Bite Marks
by Vietta
Summary: Reno & Rude need each other more than they are willing to say. Reno's fear and Rude's pride bring them together yet keep them apart.
1. Chapter 1

Reno fisted the sheets in front of him, biting his lip to keep from screaming with pleasure as Rude slammed inside of him. He could hear his own muffled noises echoing around the room with Rude's, the wonderful symphony of slapping flesh and muffled groans ringing through his ears and making the pleasure in his body even greater. Reno could feel Rude's hot breath on the back of his neck and he drank the sensation in as he struggled to keep his voice low. Things between them were complicated enough without him screaming how much he loved Rude during sex. He wasn't supposed to love him and he wasn't even sure he did, but the way Rude moved inside him made him lose any doubt that he loved the man.

Reno gasped and threw his head back as Rude's teeth gripped his neck, the pain only making his pleasure greater. He shook as he released, biting through his own lip to keep back his scream of pure bliss. Reno could feel Rude's body shaking on top of him, his simultaneous orgasm draining the strength from his well-muscled frame. Reno couldn't help but cry, just a tear or two, as Rude pulled out of him and rolled away. It wasn't pain that made him teary eyed, he was far too used to pain for it to draw tears from him anymore, it was the loss of warmth and fullness inside him. Even though his body was completely sated and drained of energy he wanted to feel Rude inside him. It wasn't something he could explain, usually he didn't mind when his partners pulled away. It was something he was used to, but with Rude it was different.

Reno collapsed onto the sheets in front of him, landing in a messy puddle of his own fluids. He could hear Rude panting beside him and resisted the urge to curl up next to the man, his mind always looking for safe and unable to be rejected actions. He looked to the side, trying to veil his emotions as he watched Rude recover from the physical exertion he had put him through. Reno tried not to think about what he had been mere seconds away from telling Rude. He tried so hard not to think about it. If he thought about it, he would consider saying it, and if he considered saying it anymore then eventually, he would say it. If he said it things would change and he didn't know how. He didn't want things to stay the way they were, but he couldn't deny his enjoyment of the routine. The desire to keep the routine made him feel like a coward, but he was such a sated coward.

Reno waited for the feeling to come back to his legs before he rolled out of the bed, doing his best not to brush against Rude as he did so. A hand shot out and grabbed his upper arm as he rolled, the warm touch sending electricity through his body. He looked at Rude hesitantly, very aware of the fact that he was trembling violently with exhaustion and the aftermath of his orgasm.

Rude held Reno lightly; very aware of how the routine was supposed to go and unsure if he wanted it to stop. It was obvious that Reno wanted to leave and the pained look on his face was almost enough to make Rude release him. Part of Rude wanted to roll over and pretend he had never touched Reno, pretend that he hadn't seen the tears. Something had compelled him to reach out and grab the shaking arm in his hand as it brushed past him, and that something did not like being ignored. Rude could see Reno's discomfort as the seconds ticked by, the words he was supposed to have said dying in his throat as he watched emotion flicker across Reno's face.

Reno could feel his face burning, with shame, anger, want, love, and selfish need. He didn't want to be there anymore, couldn't Rude see that? Hadn't the unspoken rule been that every Friday they would have sex and he would leave quietly to avoid any awkward conversation? Rude seemed intent on having the conversation they had both so studiously avoided, but when Reno tugged on his arm it was gently released. The way Rude's hand ghosted away made Reno wonder if it had ever been there at all or if he had just imagined that Rude was about to ask the long awaited question.

Rude tried to cover his slip by wiping off a few small droplets of blood from Reno's puffy lips where they had been bitten through. "You're bleeding."

Reno tried not to lean into Rude's touch, instead bringing his own hand up to examine the damage he had done himself. He could feel warm wetness under his fingers and even in the darkness of Rude's bedroom he could see the red tingeing his fingertips. He blushed harder at the proof of his desire to keep quiet and hoped his face didn't shine the way the blood seemed to. "Oh…right."

Rude sighed as Reno staggered out of the bed to clean himself up, his dark red hair swinging freely with each unsteady step. He had to force himself not to follow; remembering the look on Reno's face was enough to keep him firmly planted in the bed. No matter how badly he wanted to follow Reno into the shower he knew it would be a stupid idea. If he took things any farther than they had already gone Reno would pull away, just like he had only seconds ago.

Their first time had been an accident. Every time since then had simply been an unspoken agreement to be fuck-buddies because the accident had been an enjoyable one. No matter how pained Reno's face got Rude couldn't bring himself to think that what they were doing was a mistake.

Reno staggered into the bathroom and turned the light on, kicking the door shut behind him. He blinked as the soft fluorescent bulbs blinded him, the ache in his body and soul seemingly intensified by the gentle rays of cold light. Reno gripped the sink for support as he looked his face over, the blood dribbling down his chin bringing him equal amounts of pleasure and anguish. He had kept his tongue under control for one more pleasure-filled night with Rude and that brought pleasure and pain with it. He wanted to tell Rude that he was sick of simply fucking, that he wanted more, but he was so terrified of the inevitable rejection he saw waiting for him that he shrank from the idea. Everyone left him, no matter how good things started out in the beginning everyone always left him. It was part of the reason why Reno had ended up in Rude's apartment that first night and it was the reason he didn't leave. Even if the happiness he felt in Rude's presence was only a sham, it was better than nothing.

Reno shakily staggered to the tub, sinking to the floor beside it gracelessly and turning on the water. He showered at Rude's so often he had his own soaps and towels. He could feel his entire body trembling with the remains of the pleasure he hadn't allowed himself to bask in and he moaned softly, the entire evening flashing behind his eyes in a blur of lustful passion. The steam from the water brought him back to his senses and he dragged himself into the tub, turning on the shower and immediately getting drenched in scalding water. He hissed as the water turned his already flushed skin a dark red, the heat and pain pushing the last of the pleasure from his body and ushering in the realities of post-sex soreness.

Reno leaned back against the wall of the tub and let the water burn and sting against his still sensitive skin. His head was suddenly clear of the distracting pleasure Rude had given him, but it was still so full of pain and confusion that he couldn't manage to arrange his thoughts in a sensible manner. He was so conflicted when it came to Rude, so damned conflicted.

Reno stretched out cramped muscles and started cleaning himself, still slumped on the floor of the tub. He hadn't managed to convince his legs to pick him up yet. He could feel the bite on his neck throbbing as it bruised and he felt a distinct smugness as he ran soap over it. Each time he left Rude's apartment he wore a new mark, a new bite where Rude hadn't held back with him. To Reno it felt like those bites were signs of Rude's otherwise unannounced ownership of him, but he didn't think Rude saw them that way. At the moment he didn't care how Rude saw the bites, he knew what he thought of them and he was somehow proud of the fact that he had them.

Reno finished washing and managed to get on his feet long enough to turn off the water and pull himself out of the tub. He snatched his towel off of the rack and dried off, reluctant to return to Rude's room to locate his crumpled clothes. He wrapped the towel around his waist and braced himself as he pushed the door open, resisting the urge to bite his lip.

Rude watched silently as Reno gathered up his clothes, not feigning sleep, but not making any attempt to prove he was awake. He knew that Reno would pull up the slipping towel if he knew he was awake and the small bruises he had left along Reno's hips as he gripped him tightly would be hidden from view. There were dark purple marks all around Reno's neck and shoulders, testaments to Rude's knowledge of how to make the other man moan with pleasure. Rude knew Reno's body inside and out; it held no secrets for him anymore. He knew where the scars were and which ones needed to be avoided because they still hurt him. If Reno would only give Rude the permission he would have eagerly worshipped every bit of the man with his lips, but Reno was still far too guarded to let him do so. Rude didn't know how he was going to break through whatever barrier Reno had created between them and, truth be told, he wasn't sure he wanted to.

Reno dressed quickly, having some difficulty distinguishing his clothes from Rude's in the darkness of the room. His lip had stopped bleeding but he could still taste the blood and he tried to ignore how much better the bitterness of his blood made the lingering taste of Rude seem. He slipped out as quietly as he could; his shoes tied together and flung over one shoulder because he couldn't find his socks.

Rude listened to his door shut with a sad sigh, rolling to his side and doing his best to ignore the cold, empty feeling the something he had ignored sent through his heart. It would've been easier if he didn't have the lingering warmth of Reno's body keeping the sheets beside him warm.

Reno wobbled to his apartment, feeling like he was some kind of criminal as he hastily opened his door and slipped inside. He tossed his shoes to the floor and shed his clothes at the door, flopping onto his couch so he wouldn't have to think about the fact that half of his bed was to remain empty and cold.

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Author's Note: So much angst, so little time….. I dunno why but Rude's been whispering this story at me for a while and he kept releasing my plot bunnies so I had to write it to stop the madness *shakes fish* curse you Rude! I have other things to write!


	2. Chapter 2

Rufus watched curiously as Reno slipped into work on Monday morning; the poorly tinted goggles pulled over his eyes were a white flag waving his surrender to a hangover. Rufus ignored Tseng's continued mumbling in his ears as he watched his very desirable and very vulnerable Turk grab an entire pot of coffee, maker and all, and cart it back to his office with a bottle of creamer and a cup clutched tightly in his free hand. He sipped at his own mug of coffee and watched Reno happily, resisting the urge to laugh as Reno was stopped in his tracks by a protest from the coffee maker in his arms. The red-head blinked and looked around, groaning angrily as he walked back to unplug the machine, the bending required to do so putting his desirable backend out for Rufus to gaze at.

Rufus pulled his attention back to Tseng as the dark-haired man clicked his fingers in front of his face. "Sir this is important information regarding your speech! Pay attention!"

Rufus sighed and forced his attention away from the overly interesting backside of his employee, listening with disinterest to Tseng's words as he outlined his speech and the conditions it was going to be given in. Rufus didn't know why Tseng even bothered to instruct him in his speeches, he would simply read the pre-picked words off of note cards and drone them into the microphone for a mass of people he didn't give a damn about. He would much rather watch Reno deal with his hangover. Rufus looked over quickly as Reno straightened. He noticed a new set of bite marks running down the pale neck and he hummed softly, stirring his coffee as he imagined what sort of marks must be on Reno's delicious ass.

Tseng had grown used to Rufus' inability to keep his eyes to himself and he had more than once wondered if it was his employer who was covering the red-head with bite-marks week after week. Every Monday Reno showed up littered with bruises that could come from nothing but a well placed bite or squeeze and since he didn't have black-eyes to accompany the marks Tseng could infer that he had simply had an overly rough night of sex. He had asked Rufus if he knew about the marks and his only reply had been a snort and a muttered, "I wish."

No one knew where the bite marks and bruises came from and despite the near-constant pestering from Elena, Tseng, and various secretaries, Reno wasn't telling anyone who his seemingly abusive partner was. Rude seemed to be the only one who had no interest in the ordeal, but that surprised no one since Reno told Rude everything and they simply assumed the bald man already knew. Rude was also pestered with questions, but he simply refused to answer them; fixing the asker with an intimidating stare and waiting for them to drop the subject or walk away. It was an effective technique and after a week only the most interested and brave people continued asking him about it.

Reno sat in his office and guzzled coffee laced with copious amounts of creamer, wincing at the thin light flowing into the room from his window. His oversensitive ears could pick up every painful car horn from the street hundreds of feet below his closed window and every click of a secretary's heels on the tile floor outside his door made him want to vomit. He pulled his trash can closer to him and started filing out the mountains of paperwork stacked around his desk. His Monday morning hangover hours were when he got the majority of his work done and he usually saved all of the paperwork from the week before to be done during that time. Every other morning was spent joking with Rude and Elena or fixing devious pranks for unsuspecting colleagues.

Right now he wished fervently that he hadn't downed half a bottle of vodka the night before, but that was simply the wish of a pathetically hungover man. The night before drinking had been a wonderful idea, especially since his thoughts had turned to Rude again. He wished that he the rest of the bottle in front of him now because he could hear Rude talking quietly with Elena in the lobby just outside his door. Each low, velvety word slipped under Reno's door and into his ear, drowning all thoughts related to work and dragging him back to the wonderful memories he had tried to drink away the night before. He was getting sick of having only memories and hopes, he wanted something real.

Getting something real every Friday wasn't cutting it anymore. He was starting to get addicted to Rude and he didn't know how to handle it. There was no anonymous group for people addicted to their best friend. Reno couldn't bring himself to start the conversation that would lead to a relationship and that was a sure sign that he was getting too involved. Usually when Reno wanted to move forward he simply asked and moved forward, dropped the person, or got dropped, but with Rude he couldn't do anything. He couldn't stand the thought of Rude dropping him and he couldn't drop Rude. Reno actually cared about Rude, yet he could do nothing about it. He didn't have the courage. He remained stuck in the rut he had paced for himself. With every passing week his rut got a little deeper and despite his attempts to climb out, he could never quite make it.

Rude sighed over his cup of water, cursing the fact that Reno had once again stolen the coffee maker. Elena had managed to make it to work in time to secure her own cup of brown morning goodness, but he had been late getting up. He had been late getting up because he had been late getting to sleep. He had been late getting to sleep because he had been pacing the hall between his room and Reno's for hours. He had been pacing the hall because he had been trying to force himself to knock on Reno's door. He hadn't knocked on the door because he was unable to force his fist to meet the wood. It was almost like there had been an invisible barrier that his hand collided with just before it rested on the wood. No matter what he did he couldn't force his way through the half inch of air between his hand and the door.

Elena frowned at him over the table and flicked her eyes towards Reno's office door. "You could go steal a cup off him. His hangover doesn't need the whole pot."

"You don't know that." Rude snorted and sipped his water. Elena knew nothing of his twisted relationship with Reno and he wanted it kept that way. Until he understood what was between them he would rather keep their Friday night rendezvous quiet. Since Elena didn't know about their issues she saw no problem with his walking into Reno's office and taking coffee. If he walked into the same room, the same small room, he would be too close to the intoxicating red-head and he wouldn't be able to resist setting a comforting hand on Reno's shoulder or more.

Elena rolled her eyes and stirred sugar into her coffee with a smile, "I could go steal it for you."

Rude frowned at her and resisted the urge to grab the mug of delicious looking coffee from her hands. "You would pester him with questions and I wouldn't get my coffee until noon."

Elena giggled and sipped at her coffee. "That's why you should steal it yourself."

"I don't need coffee." Rude sighed and sipped at his water, wishing fervently that it was caffeinated.

Elena leaned across the table and gave his cheek an irritatingly rough prod. "You have bags drooping down to your jaw."

Rude batted her hand away grumpily and rubbed his cheek. "You're exaggerating."

Elena stood, "Yeah, but you're avoiding the solution. Is there some reason you can't go in? Did you guys get in a fight?"

Rude shook his head, feeling like he had been backed into a corner. The longer he avoided going into Reno's office the more suspicious she would get. If she got suspicious she would pester him with questions and when he refused to answer them she would make assumptions, assumptions that would probably be correct.

Elena frowned and her honey-brown eyes darted between Reno's office door and Rude's exhaustion-slumped shoulders. "Rude, does this have something to do with Reno's bruises?"

Rude blinked and looked up hastily. "What?"

Elena frowned and stared at him intently. "Rude, are you jealous of Reno's biter?"

Rude chuckled; relieved that she thought his reluctance to enter the room was jealousy, not guilty trepidation and confusion. "No, I'm not jealous of his biter." He managed to leave out the statement dangling on the edge of his tongue_; I _am_ his biter._

Elena smiled and patted Rude's shoulder gently before turning back towards her office. "You look like shit. Go get coffee."

Rude sighed and stood, dumping his water in the lobby sink and doing his best to ignore Rufus' interested gaze. He knew Rufus had been eavesdropping on his conversation with Elena; Elena was so loud it was hard not to listen. Rude sighed and walked towards Reno's office with Rufus' eyes boring into his back, hoping fervently that the office door wouldn't be as hard to knock on as the apartment door had been.

Much to Rude's relief his knuckles rapped on the wood with no difficulty. He could hear Reno's sleepy voice slip through the wood. "It's open."

Rude pressed the door open and blinked to adjust his eyes to the semi-darkness Reno had tried to instill in the office. The soft glow coming from the window was the only light in the room when Rude shut the door behind him. Reno seemed aggravated by the small burn of sunlight leaking through his blinds.

Reno whined softly and waved a handful of paperwork in the air. "I'm doin' my work, Tseng! Don't yell at me!"

Rude chuckled softly and walked up to Reno's desk, glad that it faced the window instead of the door. He set a hand on Reno's shoulder and gave it a light squeeze. "I'm not yelling."

Reno shivered with delight at the warm hand on his shoulder, resisting the urge to whip around and jump on Rude. "Thanks. I don't think my hangover can take it. What can I do for ya?"

Rude suddenly had several ideas completely unrelated to coffee flowing through his mind at Reno's words. He refrained from suggesting what his loins wanted and instead set his empty coffee mug on the desk. "You stole the coffee pot again."

Reno sniggered softly and grabbed his head as the sound made his head throb. He whimpered softly and pressed his goggles tighter over his eyes, silently cursing the window. "Sorry."

Rude frowned and pet Reno's hair without any thoughts to how odd it was for him to do so. "Are you alright?"

Reno shivered and pressed into the fingers that lightly massaged his scalp. "Hell no."

Rude gently tugged Reno's head upright, tilting the goggle-covered eyes up to look at him. He slipped his sunglasses off and peeled the goggles off of Reno's eyes, intent on looking at him without either of the reflective barriers. "Why are you always hungover on Monday?"

Reno blinked and couldn't keep a blush from creeping over his cheeks as Rude's face hovered above his own. His first instinct was to lean forward the extra inch forward that would press Rude's lips to his own, but he refrained, curling his fingers into the arms of his chair instead. Rude misinterpreted his lack of audible response and sighed heavily, letting sorrow cloud his wonderfully brown eyes. "Did I do something?" Reno shook his head and struggled to keep down what he wanted to say. Reno knew what his first words would be if he dared to open his mouth.

Rude watched Reno's somewhat bloodshot eyes curiously, suddenly upset that he couldn't read minds. Reno was so intoxicatingly close and Rude found he was unable to move away. They always kept their relationship professional at work and he had just pushed Reno over that invisible boundary between professional and romantic. Reno wasn't pulling away like Rude had thought he would; instead, he looked like he was confused as hell. "What is it then?"

Reno wanted to lean forward and capture the tantalizingly close lips in front of him and was about to do so when a knock sounded on the door. He quickly pulled away and grabbed the sunglasses out of Rude's hands as Rude straightened. "I'm stealing these. My hangover needs them."

Rude straightened quickly as the door opened, removing his hand from Reno's hair reluctantly. "Your hangovers steal a lot."

Reno slipped Rude's sunglasses over his eyes and gave his friend a cheap grin as Rufus entered the room. "My hangover knows you have five more pairs in your office."

Rude gave Reno an equally false grin as he felt Rufus inspect them with more interest than was necessary. "I'll kick your hangover's ass later then." He pushed past Rufus and shoved his hands into his pockets as he made his way to his office, unable to hide a scowl.

Rufus watched Rude leave with a small, smug grin. He was sure he had just interrupted something; the cheap smile still lingering on Reno's face was easily seen for its falseness. He walked up to Reno's desk and poured himself a cup of coffee, ignoring Tseng's glare on his back. Tseng had told him not to go in, insisting that he still needed to discuss the speech, but Rufus didn't give a damn. He was starting to get sick of Tseng's constant nagging and when that happened he knew he would either have to shoot Tseng or find a new babysitter for awhile. He couldn't take more than a month of Tseng coddling him at a time and he was getting dangerously close to giving the shooting idea consideration.

Rufus grinned and set a hand on Reno's desk, sipping at his coffee. "Reno, whose turn is it to take over for Tseng?"

Reno blinked and laughed as Tseng growled in indignation just outside his door. The sound hurt his head and his hangover chastised him for his carelessness by throbbing angrily. "I think Rude took over last time so it's probably mine."

"You can get what you need after work tonight and then escort me home." Rufus smirked and shut Reno's office door behind him, ignoring the cold stare Tseng shot at him. If everything went right this week he'd figure out why Rude had gone into Reno's office for coffee but left his empty mug behind.

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Author's Note: Hmmm…evil Rufus….I don't know why Rufus is always so evil in my stories….oh well. I'll probably get the next chapter of this story kicked out pretty fast because Rufus, Reno, and Rude won't leave me alone about it.


	3. Chapter 3

Reno gradually recovered from his hangover during the day and by the time he left work to go home he felt better. He wasn't looking forward to babysitting Rufus for a week, but he couldn't complain much because that meant he didn't have to pretend to be doing paperwork when he was really goofing off. He could spend all day twirling in a chair in Rufus' office, flicking rubber bands at the walls, and scratching himself without having to care about Tseng walking in and chastising him.

Rufus never gave a damn what he did so long as he didn't hover over him, break anything, or leave him unattended. Sure, he had to follow Rufus everywhere, get him to meetings on time and in one piece, fetch his coffee, and basically do everything but hold his dick while he pissed, but that was tolerable when the freedoms gained were thought of. He would get to go to all of the board meetings, make faces at Reeve, shoot things down Scarlet's dress with a rubber band, and be a nuisance that had to be ignored because he was Rufus' personal body guard. So long as he didn't do anything to harm Rufu, he was able to do anything to anyone else without fear of immediate retribution because he was Rufus' babysitter. That didn't mean he wouldn't pay the consequences for his actions later, but he didn't care much about consequences.

The only unbearable issue he could find with the arrangement was that this Friday he would be in Rufus' lonely mansion sleeping on a couch alone. That thought was what made him want to tear his hair out as he filled a bag with what he would need for the week. He was suffering from Rude cravings after only a few hours of not seeing him, he didn't know what he would do if he had to go another two weeks without being able to pop in and out of Rude's office at his leisure. If he didn't get to be with Rude on Friday he was sure to snap like a dry twig.

Reno shouldered his duffel bag of unnecessary necessities and locked his apartment door. He hoped Rufus would let him sleep on the couch like he normally did. Rufus usually tried to stick him in a guest bedroom, but Reno just couldn't feel comfortable sleeping in someone else's bed. He couldn't even feel comfortable sleeping in his own bed. He only knew of one bed that was comfortable enough to sleep in, and he couldn't make himself stay in it long enough to do so.

Reno flicked Rude's sunglasses over his eyes and smiled as he strode to his car. He loved his car, but knew that it would have to sit in the Shinra parking lot for a week because he would have to ride with Rufus in his overly long and lavish limousine.

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Rufus leaned against his car with his arms folded over his chest, ignoring Tseng's angry glares as best as he could as they waited for Reno to arrive. He knew Tseng wasn't happy with being pulled off of nanny duty, but as far as Rufus was concerned it wasn't nearly as big an issue as Tseng was making it out to be. Sure, he had ulterior motives for wanting the red-head to watch him, but why did that matter to Tseng? Tseng had always kept his nose out of his romantic affairs, even when he unwisely courted his secretaries, but now he seemed irrationally upset. He sighed and turned to Tseng, unable to ignore the glares any longer. "Why are you so upset?"

"You know the answer to that question." Tseng's dark eyes narrowed and he felt a small bit of triumph as Rufus shivered visibly from the intensity of his gaze. He had never seen Rufus quail under any other gaze, even his father's, but for some reason he was able to make the man shake where he stood. It was an ability he often misused, but he didn't feel he was misusing it now.

Rufus squared his shoulders and glared back at Tseng, knowing his angry look had no affect whatsoever on deterring the determinately fierce glare of his most trusted Turk. "That's not a good enough answer."

Tseng kept his angry façade even as he felt the bottle he stored his emotions in start to crack. He was pushing too many emotions into it at once and if he didn't get away from Rufus soon he knew he would have a breakdown because the bottle would shatter. "No answer is a good enough answer. You've decided what you'll do and, as usual, nothing I can say will keep you from doing it."

Rufus growled and straightened, curling his hands into fists at his sides. Tseng was right, not a word that leaked from his lips would deter him from doing what he set out to do. Even so, Tseng was avoiding the question and he hated not being given a straight answer. The lack of emotion in Tseng's voice only made his anger worse. He wanted something besides malice to radiate towards him from that beautiful face, but he didn't know what that something was. "Don't beat around the bush! Give me an actual answer!"

Tseng noted Rufus' outward aggression with distaste, unsure of what his true problem with the situation was. He knew Rufus wanted him out of his hair, he also knew that he spent far too much time hovering over the attention spoiled president for it to be healthy, but no matter how much time they spent together Tseng could never truly understand just what it was that made him hate the looks Rufus gave Reno. He had no right to feel jealousy, and he was sure that wasn't the right label to give his unseemly anger. He had no reason to feel jealous or even mildly concerned.

Rufus would toy with Reno for a week, maybe two. Then he would do what he always did; he would get bored and toss Reno to the side in favor of a fresher conquest. With every other person Rufus did that to Tseng felt nothing, but with Reno he could feel himself bristle internally at the thought. He didn't know what it was that made him so furious, but maybe it was the fact that he would have to personally deal with the mess after Rufus got bored. Usually Tseng just fired whatever secretary got her heart broken by the ravishing blonde, but he couldn't fire Reno. As uncouth as Reno was, he was a vital member of the Turks and Turks didn't get fired, they got killed.

Tseng kept his glare even with Rufus' as he struggled to find an answer that would avoid the question while doing something to soothe Rufus' anger. It seemed like the perfect retort was floating just out of his reach, but he couldn't wrap his tongue around it and give it form.

Rufus growled and leaned back against his car with his arms crossed, tired of waiting for a response. "Do you ever give me a real answer, Tseng?" He felt a strange sense of sorrow as he watched Tseng struggle to think of an answer. He knew the answer; Tseng's eyes told him everything. Tseng couldn't, or wouldn't, give him the answers he craved.

Tseng felt his glare weaken as he struggled to think of a response. He was saved from retorting by the thin red car that entered the parking lot. For the first time that day he could say he was truly glad to see Reno.

Reno parked by Rufus' car and shivered as he sensed the thick tension radiating between the two intimidating men waiting for him. He didn't know what he had interrupted, but he was glad he had interrupted it. He pulled his bag from his car and locked it, walking between the two with a smug grin that didn't quite reach his eyes, relieved that whatever fight they were having was stopped by his presence. "Ready ta go, boss-man?"

Rufus nodded and shot Tseng one final glare as he slipped into his car, glad that his chauffeur was driving and not Reno. Reno was attractive, but his driving skills were not known to be as pleasant as his body.

Tseng looked Reno over with a mixture of pity and anger, "Try not to screw up." He turned on his heel and marched back into the building. He was only able to keep his hands from fisting at his sides by sheer force of will. He struggled to keep himself from showing any outward signs of frustration as he strode towards his office. The bottle of his emotions was cracking badly and he needed to get home so that he could repair the cracks with his one vice; bourbon.

Reno slipped into the limousine beside Rufus and slammed the door shut, lounging on the seat as the chauffeur pulled out of the parking lot. "So what pushed you over the edge this time Rufus? He spit in your coffee?"

Rufus rested his chin on his hand and looked out the window, "No. I was simply feeling smothered. You know how he gets sometimes."

Reno laughed and rested his hands on his stomach as he stared out the opposite window. "Yeah, I understand. Still got that comfy couch for me to crash on?"

Rufus chuckled and nodded, subtly admiring Reno out the corner of his eye. "Yes. The couch is still there. I do have a guest bed you know."

Reno shrugged and watched trees and cars fly past his window, struggling to keep his attitude aloof and upbeat. "Your guest bed is covered in Tseng germs! He's already pissed because I'm takin' his job for a week, I don't wanna make it worse by sleepin' in the bed he always uses."

Rufus chuckled softly and they spent the rest of the ride in comfortable silence, each stewing in their own thoughts.

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Author's Note: This chapter feels short….very short. Hopefully it's satisfactory though. I've turned Tseng into a closet alcoholic and I'm getting Reno to Ruf's house. He still has Rude's sunglasses

**That makes me happy.**


	4. Chapter 4

Rufus sighed and kneaded his forehead as he sat on the edge of his bed, the guarded light peeking timidly under his door casting his vexed features into shadow. Reno had been more of a handful to deal with than Rufus had expected him to be. He looked at the flickering pattern of light seeping through his doorway and tried to ignore the far too loud drone of the television in the next room as he tried to re-plot his plans for seduction. His week of opportunity was almost over and if he wanted that warm body in his bed he would have to act soon. Despite Rufus' pressing to take up residence in the guest bedroom Tseng normally occupied, Reno had opted to sleep on the couch in the living room just outside Rufus' master bedroom. Rufus would have an easier time seducing Reno if he was in a bed; the narrow couch didn't have enough room for him to do the sensual things he wanted to do.

Rufus sighed as the droning of the television grew steadily louder, deciding that Reno must have fallen asleep on the remote. For the past three nights Rufus had been kept from restful sleep by the obnoxiously loud television that he was simply too tired to turn down. As he listened without interest to the strained dialogue pouring out from under the door, he pondered just how he would coerce Reno into his bed. So far Reno had been making life so difficult that Rufus had wasted all of the energy he had planned to spend seducing him on damage control.

Reno had yet to fail in his duties; he got Rufus to every meeting on time and got him everything he required, but during meetings he kept Rufus so distracted that all presentations made by board members had to be made again and again before Rufus could make his decision for approval or disproval on their requests. The one meeting they had scheduled for the week had stretched on for three days because no work had been done. Reno was more attention grabbing than the board members and their money grubbing ways. Every chance he got Reno tossed something down the front of Scarlet's dress which forced her to dig through her cleavage to retrieve whatever the object was, something that distracted the other board members far more than it distracted Rufus. While Scarlet dug through her breasts in search of an obnoxiously uncomfortable push pin Reno's astounding aim had sent into her bra, Reeve drooled over her and Rufus drooled over Reno's laughing face.

The only good thing Rufus could attribute to Reno's distracting presence was that no one was able to fall asleep during Reeve's dull speeches, but Rufus missed those naps because an overwhelming desire to pounce on Reno in his sleep and the hatefully loud television kept him from sleeping at night. Rufus sighed and stood, determined to make an attempt at seducing Reno that night even if he was too tired to put much effort into the act.

Rufus walked into the living room and paused at the loin-warming sight of Reno sprawled on his back on the couch, one arm thrown over his eyes and the thin blanket barely covering his half-naked frame. Rufus studied the well sculpted lines of Reno's chest, traveling his eyes lower until the blanket hid the succulent flesh from view. He hummed in appreciation at the yellowing bruises standing out in vivid detail over Reno's collar bone and hips, wishing it was his teeth and hands that had done the damage. He searched for the remote, intent on turning off the sappy foreign soap opera blaring its honey coated dialogue through the room. Rufus searched around Reno happily, letting his hands brush over the pale flesh gently as he tried to find the remote. He finally pried the controller out from under Reno's back and turned the television off, startling the red-head awake with the sudden lack of sound.

Reno sat up quickly, sleep fogged eyes blinking slowly as he tried to figure out why he had woken up. His eyes slowly focused on Rufus and Rufus couldn't help but let out a low hum as the blanket dropped lower, revealing more of Reno's flesh for his hungry eyes.

Reno yawned and stretched, cracking his back loudly as he tried to separate reality from his dreams. He wasn't sure if he was awake or if his pleasant dream had taken a strange turn in events, but he took the change in stride. "Sup Ruf?"

Rufus sat on the couch where Reno's head had rested only moments before, making himself comfortable on the spot Reno had warmed. "We need to have a talk about the television."

Reno yawned and lay back, slightly confused by the warm and slightly lumpy thing that had replaced his pillow. He was still having trouble pulling his thoughts from the confusing dream he had been having and could still be having. He had closed his eyes as soon as his head had touched his new pillow, unable to keep them open. "Did I break it?" He nuzzled into the warm heat below him and tried to figure out what it was.

Rufus felt heat stir in his stomach as Reno unwittingly laid his head on his groin, nuzzling into him. Slight confusion twisted Reno's half-asleep features and Rufus gently stroked a hand through the tangled hair spread across his legs. "No, but you had it too loud. I can't sleep if you have it that loud."

"Sorry Ruf." Reno hummed softly, assuming that he had slipped back into his dream as warm fingers knotted themselves in his hair. His dream had been full of lovingly soft touches and he smiled softly, glad that he had been able to stay in the dream where he had something more than just sex to look forward to. He wasn't sure why Rufus had barged into his dream, but his sleep-fogged mind didn't seem to care who was massaging the nape of his neck so long as someone was doing it.

Rufus tugged his fingers through Reno's hair gently, confused by his willingness. When Rufus had tried to make advances during their free time in his office, Reno had just shrugged him off with a laugh and stole more rubber bands and paperclips from his desk, thinking that Rufus was simply joking as he twisted the thin metal clips into sharp projectiles and launched them into the ceiling with the rubber bands. Rufus wasn't sure there was a paper-clip free space left in his office.

Rufus contemplated the situation he had placed himself in as Reno nuzzled into his lap sleepily, his warm, even breaths tickling across Rufus' stomach. He let his hands trail from Reno's hair down his neck, lightly brushing his fingertips over the half-healed bruises that seemed to glow on Reno's pale skin in the darkness. Reno mewled softly and pressed into his fingers as they roamed over his chest, surprisingly responsive to the touches. Rufus hummed and leaned over Reno, licking his lips nervously before pressing them against Reno's, praying that the red-head wouldn't push him away.

Reno had trouble making his lips move against the dream lips that pressed lightly against his, but he managed to awkwardly complete the kiss. The darkness seemed to complete his dream and the fingers running over his stomach and chest left his breaths uneven and hitched, pleasure pressing his sleepy mind for attention as he tried to rouse himself from his far too realistic dream. He knew how these dreams ended, even in his sleep he knew that they wouldn't end how he wanted them to. He would wake up before the pleasantness ended and he'd be alone, pressed into his couch with fuzz in his mouth from where he had tried to act on his dream had licked the couch.

Rufus moaned softly as Reno's sleepy and uncoordinated tongue twined with his own, exploring the delicious mouth below him with pleasure as his hands ghosted over pale flesh. It had been awhile since he had had someone so willing and responsive under his touch and he reveled in the warm body that pressed into him. Slowly the responsiveness grew less and he pulled back, confused by the sudden withdraw of Reno's previously eager tongue. He laughed softly as Reno breathed deep and evenly, obviously fast asleep once more. Rufus hummed and twined his fingers back in Reno's hair, reclining the chair of the couch he sat in as he licked the taste of Reno's delicious tongue from his mouth, savoring the taste the way he would a fine wine. Reno's face nuzzled into his stomach and he shivered at the warm breath that brushed across his skin. Even though he was no longer in his comfortable bed and the couch was a less than ideal place to sleep, he was fairly sure that with the taste of Reno on his tongue and the warm body pressed into his that he would be able to sleep well.

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Author's Note: I wonder if Rufus realized Reno was basically asleep through all of that…


	5. Chapter 5

Tseng sat in his apartment swirling a glass of bourbon in his hand as he stared at his feet groggily. His jacket had been tossed to the side and his shirt was only half buttoned, revealing his well-sculpted chest and all of the scars traced across it by various forms of weaponry. Weapons of various shape, size, and intent littered the area surrounding him and he reveled in the rarely felt comfort and vulnerability that being drunk and stripped of all protection gave him. His mind puttered along at a sluggish rate as he succumbed to the mind numbing effects of the alcohol, humming softly as he refilled his glass from the half empty decanter on the coffee table beside him. For the first time in a week he was relaxed, and it didn't suit him at all.

He ached to do something, anything that would get rid of the ache in his chest. The alcohol numbed the pain that gnawed at his soul, but it didn't remove it. He had spent the past week drinking until he was tired enough to sleep, but was never able to rid himself of the pain and tonight was the first night where he had actually been able to forget whatever caused it long enough to relax. His weakness grated on his nerves and he tried to make his muddled mind focus on what was causing the pain, but the bourbon he steadily sipped wouldn't permit him to think lucidly. That was a blessing and a curse for Tseng, and why he chose bourbon as his drinking partner for the night. He was able to let his tired and tense body relax with his thoughts, but then he couldn't comprehend what was going on around him.

Tseng was busily refilling his glass from the decanter he was considering drinking from so he wouldn't slop the precious liquid all over his hands when a knock sounded on the door. He took a small sip of his newly poured bourbon before setting the glass down clumsily, struggling to his feet and wobbling unsteadily towards the door. He contemplated grabbing a weapon from the floor, but he knew he wasn't sober enough to utilize any of them.

Tseng walked calmly to the door, confused as to why he was doing so now that the knocking had stopped. He let the chain on his door go taut and peered through the crack. He stared at the bleary-faced man whose fist had assailed his door and it took his foggy eyes a few moments to piece together and recognize the features of the man before him, but soon the puzzle fit together and triggered a verbal response. "Rude?"

Rude took in Tseng's bloodshot eyes through his own and chuckled softly, "You're wasted too, Tseng?"

Tseng frowned and tried to open the door wider to let Rude inside, confused by the door's reluctance to open all the way. He tugged on it and his frown deepened as Rude plucked the chain like a guitar string. Tseng shut the door to undo the chain, but once the door was closed and the chain removed he had trouble remembering why he had unlocked his door at all. He was about to lock it again when knocking sounded on his door. He opened it, blinking softly as he tried to piece together and recognize the features of the man before him. Soon the puzzle pieces fit together and triggered a verbal response. "Rude?"

Rude swayed slightly and staggered inside, chuckling softly. "You're soooo wasted, Tseng."

"Not wasted, just drunk." Tseng rolled his eyes and shut the door, struggling to re-chain it as the rotation of his eyes made the entire room spin. He steadied himself against the door as his confused body tried to compensate for the spinning by wobbling and shook his head to try and diffuse the sensation. Shaking his head only served to make the sensation worse, however, and he settled on closing his eyes until the vertigo passed.

Tseng was reminded of his guest when Rude unsteadily settled himself onto his couch with a squeak of protest from springs that were unused to bearing weight. Tseng frowned, trying to remember why he never used his couch, but Rude's next question stopped his musing. "Can I have soma this stuff, Tseng?" Tseng turned as Rude swirled the amber contents of his decanter.

Tseng nodded and steered his shuffling, swaying body towards his chair and the remaining contents of his glass. He plopped into his cushy armchair and sipped the bourbon happily, watching as Rude grabbed a spare glass from the tray his decanter rested on and shakily poured the bourbon into it.

Rude hummed as he took his first sip and leaned back against the couch. There were more squeaking protests from the couch as Rude's weight shifted. "So why're you drinkin', boss?"

Tseng blinked and tried to remember why he had started drinking. A few fuzzily painful memories tried to surface, making the hurt in his chest grow, and he sipped the bourbon again to push them away. Unfortunately, pushing them away left him without a definite answer, but he didn't want to remember why he had started drinking in the first place. "Dunno." His tongue felt heavy and he was somewhat surprised he was able to move it enough to form words. "Why're you drinkin'?"

Rude hummed and sipped the bourbon, "Miss Reno."

Tseng felt a stab of pain from the wound in his chest and gulped the sour bourbon to chase it away. He was still able to remember the conversation at hand though, and that kept his chest hurting. Maybe he could talk it away? If he could get his tongue to move right he might be able to, and then he wouldn't have to keep drinking until he blacked out. Hungover Tseng would be happy if he didn't drink as much tonight as he had last night, this morning hungover Tseng had been very cranky with drunk Tseng. He waited for his thoughts to arrange before spreading them across his soggy, wasted tongue like wet butter. "Then why dontcha go s-see him?" He hiccupped embarrassingly as he talked and a cloud of bourbon flavored breath tickled his nose, but Rude didn't seem to notice or mind.

"He's stuck at Rufususeses." Rude struggled to successfully shove Rufus' name into the air, but his tongue skipped around the proper pronunciation like a stone chucked across tepid water.

"Lucky him." Tseng felt another pang in his chest and frowned, forcing it away with more bourbon. He drained his glass and then the decanter, humming softly at the warmth that spread in his stomach from the alcohol. He felt strangely bitter despite the warmth, and he couldn't pin a reason down.

Rude frowned morosely, "Unlucky me." The couch springs whined loudly as Rude leaned forward and sipped at his glass.

Tseng felt his thoughts try to arrange a response that would continue the conversation in the same thread, but he ignored them as the long syllables made his head hurt. Instead, he changed topics. "Why're you h-here?" Another hiccup, another cloud of bourbon breath.

Rude gave a slurred giggle and drained his glass. "Bartender wouln't gimme my lock-turny things an Lena didn't wanna deal with my drunk. Wanid ta know if I could crash here for tanight."

Tseng blinked at Rude's foggy face and felt the distinct displeasure of being one-upped. Rude was so drunk he couldn't even remember what the lock-turny things were called, yet Tseng was still sober enough to remember. At least he thought he was. He tried to call up the word from his unwired brain, but the operator wasn't at his post. Oh well, he didn't need to know what the lock-turny things were called anyways. It wasn't relevant. "You can stay. I think I gotta spare blanket and stuff somewhere…" He closed his eyes and tried to concentrate. What were the lock-turny things again?

Rude smiled and moved to re-fill his glass, only to find the decanter empty. He turned to Tseng with a disappointed pout. "Got more?"

Tseng looked around, wondering where he had put his extra bottle of bourbon. He could vaguely remember setting it in the kitchen, but as he stood up to retrieve it his shaky legs let him know that he wouldn't be able to walk the long distance to the kitchen and back without hurting himself. He knew, even in his hazy, drunken state, that when the booze ran out it meant it was time for bed. He remembered that sober Tseng didn't like it when drunk Tseng tore the kitchen up looking for more because drunk Tseng had a habit of forgetting to clean up. "I think it's sleep time, Rude."

Rude nodded and laid down on the couch, blinking as the springs creaked loudly. "I sleep here?"

Tseng nodded and staggered to his bedroom, wishing that the floor would stop moving so much so he could walk straight. The awkward sway of the room was making him seasick.

Rude nuzzled the couch cushions with a yawn and Tseng vaguely remembered that he had wanted to be nice and give Rude a spare blanket so he could be warm. As he went to fetch his spare bedding, he realized that he didn't remember where sober Tseng had put them when he had first moved into this apartment. Sober Tseng spent so much time somewhere else to know where he had put everything, but drunk Tseng couldn't remember where sober Tseng spent his time. It didn't matter though, because drunk Tseng could see a nice comfy blanket on sober Tseng's prettily made bed and there was even a pillow! He grabbed them both and struggled to walk back to the living room without tripping over the awkward blanket he carried; hungover Tseng would be angry enough about the headache, he didn't need to have a bunch of bruises too.

The room swayed dangerously as he staggered back to the living room and he had to pause several times and shut his eyes to keep from throwing up. He fervently wished that the room would stop swaying, but the room didn't want to listen to him. He realized, however, that the slower he walked, the slower the room swayed, so he shuffled into the living room at a snail's pace.

Rude was half-asleep already and his sunglasses hung lopsided on his face. His shoes were kicked onto the floor and as he watched Tseng sway into the room he giggled drunkenly. His slurred titters made his ears ring and he held his head as Tseng dropped the blankets on him. A small whimper escaped Tseng's alcohol reddened lips as he swayed, "Make the room stop, Rude."

Rude blinked from where he lay on the couch, unsure of what the room was doing or how to make it stop. "Stop what?"

Tseng blinked and held his head as Rude tucked himself under the crumpled up blanket. "It's movin'. Lots and lots."

Rude giggled and nuzzled his face into the pillow sleepily. "You're the ony one movin', Tseng."

Tseng blinked, "How do I stop?" He was at a loss for what to do about the problem. First the room had started moving, and now Rude said it was him that was moving! It confused his foggy brain and all he wanted was to make everything stop so his stomach wouldn't roll over and spill out his expensive bourbon. It had tasted good on the way down, but if his hiccups were anything to go by it wouldn't taste good on the way back up.

Rude blinked and tried to think of a solution. All he wanted to do now was sleep; his thoughts were fogged and he didn't know how Tseng expected him to solve his problems when he couldn't solve his own. "I dunno…siddown?"

Tseng sat by Rude's side and immediately the swaying sensation decreased in intensity. He could still feel the slightest swing in the room around him, but it could be ignored. Satisfied with the fact that the room had basically stopped, he stood again, intent on getting back to his room to sleep. The room tilted dangerously and he sat back down quickly. He tried repeatedly to get to his feet, but each attempt made the room slip from side to side.

Rude seemed to find his problem extremely funny, if his slurred giggles were anything to go by.

Tseng frowned and clumsily punched Rude's shoulder. "Stop laughin' isn't funny!"

Rude rubbed his shoulder and sobered up just enough to realize that Tseng needed to lie down or that funny green color on his face would make him throw up. He tugged on Tseng's arm until Tseng lay beside him. "Sleep here. I don't mind since ya can't walk straight."

Tseng felt the swaying stop as his head hit the pillow and he decided to take Rude's advice. It seemed that the room had wanted him on his side the whole time, because now it wasn't trying to tip him over. He squirmed under the blanket clumsily and yawned, waiting for sleep to catch hold of his mind. As Rude's arm curled around him and cuddled him closer he found himself thinking about how mad hungover Tseng would be about the position, but he didn't know why. Sometimes hungover Tseng was so picky. Rude was comfortable to sleep beside and even though the lights were still on, something else that would make hungover Tseng mad, he felt himself falling asleep. The lights were so pretty; he could never understand why hungover Tseng didn't like them, but hungover Tseng was a party-pooper anyways, so it didn't matter.

As Tseng's eyelids started to droop a word slipped over his thoughts and he blurted it out. "Keys!"

Rude yawned confusedly into his ear, "What about keys?"

Tseng struggled to think of why keys were suddenly so important, but couldn't find an answer. As he tried to trace his thoughts he heard Rude's breathing turn into a light snore and gave up on the idea. His eyes began to droop shut again and he found he was strangely smug over the word 'keys'.

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Author's Note: Wrote this during one of those nifty 4 hour breaks I have between classes at college. Rather entertaining, yes? I

_**was**_** going to make this chapter continue the whole Rufus/Reno happening on the same night that this chapter takes place, but after listening to all the college weekend stories of hangovers, parties, and excessive boozing I couldn't not make this story about Rude and Tseng getting drunk. My environment influences what I write a little too much at times….**

**Thanks for everyone's patience in waiting for this update, I know I've been waaaaaay behind lately, but between school, work, domestic disputes, and the trip to Iowa I'm taking soon I've had no free time except during those 4 hour blips of free time. Unfortunately, my writing does not always like to be the most creative and fun during those 4 hour blips.**

**I need to find a concrete opportune time (that isn't 2 am) where my brain willingly kicks out story ideas and where I have at least 4 uninterrupted hours to put fingers to keyboard or pen to paper.**


	6. Chapter 6

Reno squirmed as he was shaken softly, letting the last dregs of his dream strain from his mind. He didn't want to wake up contemplating the strangeness of a dream where Rude and Rufus seemed to be one in the same. It was too confusing and upsetting. He let his eyes open only when he was sure that he wasn't dreaming anymore and that Rufus' voice did indeed belong to Rufus. His head was resting on the couch and he wondered why he thought it wouldn't be; his dream had been too vivid for his liking. The idea of Rufus wanting to kiss him was an absurd one and the thought of sleeping in his lap was even more ridiculous; that's how Reno knew it had to have been a dream. He could've sworn that Rufus woke him up at some point in the night, but he didn't remember what they talked about or if they had talked at all. Rufus prodded him awake as he towel-dried his hair. "Get up and showered, we're late for work."

Reno jumped to his feet and darted into the bathroom, groggily allowing adrenaline to force his body awake even though his mind was still asleep. "Shit! Tseng is gunna flay me alive!" He slammed the door shut behind him and blinked through the steam leftover from Rufus' shower as he stripped and turned the water back on.

Rufus smiled and finished pulling on his clothes, feeling rather smug. He knew that if Tseng had been able to see how they had kissed the night before he would do far worse to Reno than flay him alive. Rufus chuckled and went downstairs, happy at the idea of Tseng's jealousy.

Dark Nation sauntered up to him as he reached the entrance hall where she slept and guarded the door fiercely from intruders. The large beast rubbed against his side like a large kitten and made a noise in her throat that was something akin to purring, but sounded more like a choking turtle. Rufus knelt beside her and stroked her glossy, well-groomed hide and pushed aside his stewing thoughts. She was the one thing in his life that was constant. He hired new help on an almost monthly basis, the longest anyone had worked in his home was a year; he bought new guns whenever his current model became outdated, and new bullets were always at hand; his love interest changed regularly, the only person he had ever been interested in a long term relationship with had turned him down after one night; and his friends changed with the economy, more precisely with the way stocks rose and fell for his company.

Dark Nation had been his pet since he was ten years old, and she would be his pet until she died. He would not get another pet after her; it wouldn't be worth it. Rufus scratched behind her ears gently and rubbed the base of her tentacle, listening to her strange choking purr with a small smile. Rufus caught sight of his watch as he stroked her, sighing softly as thin metal hands screamed at him in Tseng's voice about the importance of punctuality. Dark Nation butted her head against his chest as his scratching fingers stopped, demanding more attention from her easily distractible master. Rufus smiled and rubbed her ears, kissing the top of her fuzzy head gently.

Reno dressed as quickly as he could and was still tripping into his pants when he made it downstairs, a towel slung over his shoulder. His shirt was opened wide and a set of clean socks was clenched between his teeth like a pirate's dagger as he zipped up his pants. As he descended the last few stairs of the case he paused, blinking at the look on Rufus' face as he stroked his tentacle waving pet. Reno had never seen Rufus look so serene and contemplative in his life and he stared openly as he tugged on his socks. Rufus nuzzled his face against Dark Nation's and Reno felt a smile tug at his lips; he hadn't thought Rufus capable of feeling fondness for anything. He walked over to the door to snatch his jacket from the peg where it hung, trying to keep from interrupting the one tenderness Rufus allowed him to see.

Dark Nation caught sight of Reno as he neared and pulled away from Rufus, lashing at Reno with her tentacle. She caught him across the chest and he gasped, backing away and holding the quickly growing red welt on his torso in surprise. Dark Nation growled loudly, sounding more like a cement mixer than anything else, and stood protectively in front of Rufus, lashing out with her tentacle at Reno. Rufus blinked in surprise and stood, setting a hand on Dark Nation's head, "Stay still, Reno."

Reno nodded and made sure he was a safe distance away before stiffening quietly. Dark Nation continued to growl gratingly, pressing into Rufus' hand and lashing at Reno aggressively.

Rufus gently held onto Dark Nation's tentacle, tugging on her ear gently to get her full attention as he kept her from harming Reno further. The hound-like creature glared up at him with large, menacingly yellow eyes, impatience and anger raising the hairs on her back. Rufus stroked them down and knelt by her, "Easy girl, he's not going to hurt me. You were fine with him being here yesterday and the day before that and the day before that. He gave you a treat yesterday, remember?"

Dark Nation continued to growl but didn't attempt to do Reno further injury, sensing that Rufus didn't want her to harm the man she deemed a familiarly scented intruder. Reno kept himself pressed against the wall, hoping that the sting at the end of her tentacle wasn't poison-tipped like the other guard hounds he had encountered before. He didn't want to go through the round of treatments it would take to get the hound's venom out of his system.

Rufus felt Dark Nation tense uneasily beneath his hand and sighed, walking forward and keeping himself between her and Reno. As soon as he released her tentacle she began pacing behind him like a predatory cat, large yellow eyes focused on his back. He knew that his refusal to allow her to attack Reno only made her angry and upset, but he wouldn't have Reno covered in welts and bite marks; well, not bite marks from her teeth anyways.

Reno watched Dark Nation pace behind Rufus warily, not fully aware of the fact that Rufus was drawing closer. Rufus smiled and gently stroked Reno's cheek, making the red-head jump and tear his eyes away from the waving tentacle of his beloved pet. "B-boss?"

Rufus smiled softly and gently trailed his fingers over Reno's chest; he was unable to help himself, the man was shirtless, very visually appealing, and his fingers were hungry to feel him. He felt as predatory as Dark Nation as Reno shivered under his fingertips. "Sorry, Reno, but she's very protective of me and you snuck up on us. Now she considers you a threat and will think that until I prove you to be a friend."

Reno shivered and watched Dark Nation pace behind Rufus, feeling very much like prey as he gazed into her yellow eyes. "So…how are you going to prove I'm a friend?"

Rufus smiled and gently stroked the thick welt crossing Reno's chest, following the swollen trail it made down to Reno's side and cupping his hand around Reno's hip gently. "Like this."

Rufus gently set his lips against Reno's and pressed him closer to the wall, humming quietly as Reno gasped in surprise. Dark Nation's growls began to slow as Rufus nibbled at Reno's lips, mewling internally at the lack of resistance from the body pressed against his. Reno began kissing back timidly, as if he was shy, and Rufus could feel a blush creeping up the warm cheek under his hand. Rufus absorbed himself in the taste brushing across his demanding lips and nearly growled with frustration when Dark Nation stopped snarling and lost him the opportunity to deepen the kiss further. He drew back after a final tug at Reno's lips and smiled, acting as if he regularly made out with the people his pet was uncomfortable with. "See? She's all better now." Rufus grinned at the blush painting Reno's cheeks and the slightly breathless look of shock on his face. Reno's lips were slightly kiss-swollen and Rufus turned to scratch Dark Nation behind the ears before temptation overpowered him and led his lips back to Reno's, making a personal note to make sure his faithful pet was given extra treats when he got home from work.

Reno tried to gulp down the moan that had been fighting to burst through his throat since Rufus' lips had started moving against his, not trusting himself to speak until he was sure it was gone. Rufus' kiss had been demanding, yet surprisingly gentle, as if Rufus had been afraid that pushing him too far would make him pull away. He rubbed the welt on his chest and silently willed away his painfully obvious erection, angry that half a week without sex from Rude would make him so willing to kiss someone else. He could will away his erection, but he couldn't will away the images in his head as he buttoned his shirt closed and grabbed his jacket. "She's not poisonous is she?"

Rufus shook his head as Dark Nation sauntered off to the plush cushion near the door that served as her bed, glaring fiercely at Reno with her large, startlingly yellow eyes. "Of course she's not. I had her venom glands removed when she was still a pup."

Reno sighed in relief and shrugged on his jacket, trying to keep his voice light and joking as he commented on the beast that glared at him, "Does she usually need you to kiss people she doesn't like? That must make walks with her interesting. Let me know the next time you're taking her on a walk so I can line up for a free Rufus make-out session."

Rufus chuckled and opened the door, "Next time you want one, just ask for one."

Reno blushed dark as Rufus walked out, rushing after him as Dark Nation began getting to her feet. He didn't want to see what the beast would do to him if Rufus wasn't nearby and ready to suck his face off for her comfort.

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Author's Note: I always neglect Dark Nation when I write about Rufus, so I thought I'd pull her furry lil' butt into this story. She's not fond of Reno, but not many animals are for some reason…


	7. Chapter 7

Tseng groaned weakly as he pried his sleep-sticky eyelids apart, hoping that the pounding in his head wouldn't pop his eyes out of their sockets once the thin fleshy lids keeping them contained parted. After a few daring attempts at escape, the pounding in his head subsided slightly and his eyes were able to focus on the world surrounding him. Unfortunately, hungover Tseng did not like what he saw; he did not like what he saw one bit. His weapons were strew across the floor, creating a dangerous obstacle course his shaky legs wouldn't be able to navigate without slamming his feet into a knife blade or chair leg. Hungover Tseng didn't like what he felt either; his tongue felt like it was coated in fur; it was obvious his drunken self had skipped brushing his teeth, like normal; and he was in serious discomfort because of the angle the couch he had passed out on placed his back in. What disturbed him most, however, was the arm draped over his side.

If his reflexes weren't so dulled by the pounding sensation that was working its way through his whole body, the owner of the arm would be bleeding and out the door or window by now. As it was, all Tseng could manage to do was slap the arm until it pulled off of him. A body behind him groaned, the discomfort projected past Tseng's ear mirrored throughout his own body. Tseng weakly sat up, having difficulties due to his throbbing skull. "If you don't want to get shot give me a name and tell me what we did or did not do."

Rude laid his arm over his eyes and sighed. "It's Rude, Tseng. I don't know what we did last night. I don't even remember coming here. Last thing I remember is being denied my keys at the bar. I was freaking wasted."

Tseng blinked at Rude in confusion, wracking his stubborn brain for answers. He didn't remember much after the third glass of bourbon but considering the fact that the only soreness he felt was in his back and that he was still clothed, he didn't think he had slept with Rude. He was glad for that, waking up on his couch had meant unremembered sex in the past.

Tseng stood up slowly, "I'm going to shower. Make yourself at home and try not to trip on the obstacle course we left out last night. I'm not excusing you from work for a stupidity related injury." Tseng carefully forced himself to stop swaying, walking towards his bathroom with purpose. He stubbed his toes several times, but didn't cry out despite the pain his tender foot-digits sent to him. Now that he was relatively sober, he could only remember the pain he had been trying to drink away the night before, and waking up on his couch freshened memories he had been trying to stifle for almost a year. Tseng slammed the bathroom door shut, stripping and climbing into his shower without bothering to wince at the pain the loud noise skirted across his senses.

Rude pulled off his sunglasses and rubbed his eyes, surprised that he had managed to fall asleep with them on. As he rubbed, he could feel the lines where his cutting eyewear had imprinted into his skin. He sighed and pulled the glasses back over his eyes as light stabbed at his retinas, glad that he had gotten somewhere safe the night before. He hadn't been that purposelessly drunk in a long time and he should have taken someone with him, but the only person his sober self would have trusted to watch him drink away his troubles had been occupied.

Rude stood and wandered to the kitchen, avoiding the sharp blades that were scattered across the floor. He needed coffee and he needed it badly. Luckily for him he had crashed in a home where coffee was the only thing in the cupboards, besides alcohol, something that confused and concerned him. He had considered Tseng to be someone responsible enough to know that coffee and alcohol were not adequate sources of nutrition, but apparently his boss was not what he expected.

As Rude made the delicious, hangover curing coffee, he realized that this was the first time he had ever been inside Tseng's apartment. Normally when he wanted to see Tseng, he went to Rufus' mansion or the Shinra building. Perhaps that was the reason there was no food stored in the cupboards. As Rude dusted off a set of coffee mugs and poured the thick black elixir of life into them, he heard the shower stop. He hoped that Tseng would allow him to use his shower; he reeked of alcohol and stale sweat. He didn't think the sweat came from any physical activity, but from sleeping in his stuffy suit. He sipped his coffee and looked at the clock, hoping that he would be able to make a quick visit to his apartment before work. He couldn't show up to work in day old clothes, especially when they were stained with alcohol, and he knew that if he showed up to work late Tseng would probably assign him the shit work he always gave when he was angry. Tseng usually saved such work for the Turk trainees, but every now and again he vindictively gave it to a senior member of the Turks.

Tseng toweled his hair dry and pulled on fresh clothes, inhaling the scent of coffee deeply. He brushed his hair back into a neat, meticulous ponytail and walked into the kitchen. He accepted a steaming mug of coffee from Rude and sipped at it, "You may take a shower if you wish, Rude."

Rude nodded and walked to the bathroom. "Thank you, Tseng."

Tseng waited for Rude to close the bathroom door before spitting out the mouthful of coffee he had been swishing about. Rude made strong coffee and Tseng, surprisingly, couldn't take the flavor without sweetener. He wiped his mouth on his sleeve and grabbed coffee creamer from his refrigerator, sniffing it before tossing it in the trash. Unfortunately, he hadn't been able to inspect his creamer situation and as he caught a wiff of the sour, lumpy substance he made a mental note to either buy more, or stop buying it altogether. He was home so rarely that he never got to use it. Coffee and alcohol were better when they were older, but dairy products didn't seem to age quite so gracefully.

When Rude finished his shower and pulled on his day old clothes, Tseng was waiting by the door. The weapons had been removed form the floor, their dishes cleaned, and there was no evidence that they had slept on the couch the night before. Tseng cleared his throat and opened the door, "I shall see you at work. Don't be late, but don't show up in those clothes. They're rather disgusting. Did you get in a fight last night?"

Rude shrugged and pulled on his sunglasses. "I don't remember, but it's possible. Why?"

Tseng chuckled and lead him out of the apartment. "There's blood on your sleeves. I feel sorry for the person who got in your way."

Rude followed Tseng out and walked towards his apartment, "Whoever it was he probably deserved it. I don't punch people for no reason." He frowned as he searched his pockets, looking at Tseng curiously. "Did I have my keys last night?"

Tseng shook his head. "You did not. You wouldn't have been in my apartment if you had been able to get into yours."

Rude nodded and forced his door open, turning the doorknob until the lock cracked open from the pressure he exerted. "True. I was pretty wasted last night so the bartender probably didn't give me my keys back." He blinked and looked at Tseng in confusion. "Thinking of that, why were you drinking last night?"

Tseng frowned and locked his apartment door before walking away. "It is none of your business what I do in my free time or why I do it."

Rude shrugged and went into his apartment, tossing his stained and filthy clothes in the laundry. Tseng was right; it wasn't any of his business what Tseng did or why. So long as Tseng was fit to work, Rude wasn't supposed to be concerned. The problem was, he thought as he pulled on fresh clothes, he _was_ concerned. He had never felt the need to worry about Tseng before, but he had never seen the side of Tseng that he had just been exposed to before. The side he had just seen was juxtaposition to everything he associated with the dark Wutain man.

Tseng got some milder coffee once he got to the Shinra building; Rufus made sure he bought powdered creamer in bulk. No one in the building seemed able to function once the coffee and creamer ran out. It had happened before and by Gaia Tseng had sworn that it would never happen again. Tseng sipped on his coffee as he carried a folder full of files to Rufus' office, feeling more like himself than he had when waking up that morning. He was covered in weapons and protective gear, all of it neatly layered beneath his suit and invisible to the eye. His vulnerability was gone, as was the worst of his hangover. He was alert, strong, and ready to kill anyone who stood in his way.

If that was true, then why did he drop his coffee and files to the floor and simply gape when he entered Rufus' office to find him bent over the desk with Reno beneath him? They were both clothed, which was a relief to his astounded and hurt eyes, but the fact that Rufus' lips were munching away at Reno's mouth like he couldn't get enough was explicit enough to make him highly uncomfortable. Reno seemed just as surprised as Tseng was; he was laying there, spine locked and lips only barely moving in response to the attention they received. As coffee soaked into the files Tseng had so studiously prepared that morning, Rufus looked up from his prey, a glint of anger in his eyes as he tried to convince Reno's lips to move against his. Tseng glared at Rufus evenly, determined to keep the pain that had washed over him out of his features as he took stock of the situation. Reno still hadn't noticed his presence and Rufus was obviously determined to keep Reno's mind and body occupied, so Tseng was left with limited options of action. He could interrupt, but that would only give Rufus the reaction he undoubtedly wanted from him. Tseng decided to do what he did best when he was uncomfortable; he shut the door on Rufus and walked away like nothing had happened at all.

Reno gasped heavily as Rufus' lips finally tore away from his; the assault had him so confused and shaken that his mind had gone blank. Rufus stared at the door, face stony and cruel, and Reno wondered just who had seen. He tilted his head towards the door and shook softly, hoping that it hadn't been Rude. The coffee mug and soggy files soaking into the carpet could have belonged to anyone, but Rufus wouldn't have reacted the way he was if just anyone had come through the door. Rufus looked down at him and rearranged his facial features as he nipped his neck gently, "It was no one important."

Reno shivered and squirmed, struggling to make his mouth work again; he was sure Rufus had popped his jaw out of place with the rough kisses he had forced on him. "L-let me up, Ruf. Gotta clean up all the stuff on the floor."

Rufus rolled his eyes and bit his neck hard, grinning around the flesh in his teeth as Reno cried out and arched. He licked the reddening bite mark gently; trying to push away the anger Tseng's abrupt departure had left him with. He had wanted a reaction. He had wanted Tseng to show some sign that he was not only shocked, but angry as well. He had wanted Tseng to storm in, drag him away from Reno's only barely willing mouth, and give him a lecture on the proper activities to participate in with employees. He had wanted Tseng to de-assign Reno from him on the spot and reinstate himself as his main protector so that he could put other plans into action; his plans with Reno had started losing their luster once Reno had made it obvious that he wasn't interested. Reno had made sure to outline that point during their ride to work.

If he couldn't get what he wanted most, he'd settle for getting what he wanted second most, and as his erection was reminding him, screwing Reno into the desk was definitely what he wanted second most at the moment. Reno was squirming, his face flushed and crossed by conflicting emotions of want and confusion. It was obvious that Reno didn't want to be under him, he wanted to be under someone else, but Rufus didn't give a damn. Reno would only get him off once he forced him off or let him finish what he started.

Reno panted softly as Rufus sucked on the mark he had left, eyes wide with confusion. He knew that by being under Rufus right now, he was giving up his right to be under Rude on the next night, but he couldn't see where it was such a horrible thing. True, it hurt like hell to think of giving Rude up for someone who wasn't nearly as in synch with him, but Reno couldn't bite back the husky gasp that brushed past his lips as Rufus bit his collarbone. Reno felt he had finally found his way out of the rut. If he could unaddict himself from Rude long enough to see things clearly, then maybe he could sort out his feelings. It was obvious that Rufus didn't want a committed relationship from him and Reno didn't want a committed relationship from Rufus either, but Rufus was offering sex and sex was all he needed. He could use Rufus as long as it took to get his head back on straight and then he could figure out where to go with his relationship with Rude. The only problem with using Rufus for sex was that he didn't know how he was supposed to react with Rufus. With Rude everything was an unrehearsed but perfectly synchronized choreography of touches and moans, but with Rufus everything seemed off. Reno felt that this was a test he hadn't studied for as Rufus' grasping teeth tore into his shoulder with renewed vigor. Reno yelped and forced Rufus off him as Rufus' jaw clenched around an old, but still painful, scar. He sat up and clenched his shoulder, eyes shut tight as he tried to will away the arm numbing pain throbbing from his skins remembrance of a bullet's kiss. "Sh-shit, Rufus! Watch where ya bite that hurt!"

Rufus kissed the bite gently and rolled his eyes, not truly caring that he had hurt Reno. He had left his marks and that was what mattered. Everyone would see them and everyone would get the idea that Reno was his, at least for the time being. "Sorry, Reno." He took a glance at his watch and hummed softly. "Let's skip the rest of the day and go home, hmm? I'm sick of interruptions."

Reno nodded and sat up, straightening his hair. "Sure thing, I'll clock us out and we can go screw around somewhere else."

Rufus nodded and straightened his clothes. He could tell that Reno wasn't actually interested in him, only the sex, but it was enough of an interest for him to feel placated. Reno clocked them out and they went down to his limousine, ignoring the odd look the chauffeur gave them as they clambered into the backseat. Rufus gave the chauffeur the order to go home and then closed the privacy panel, intent on keeping Reno interested during their ride home.

Reno slipped onto Rufus' lap as soon as the privacy panel was in place, locking lips with Rufus before he could lose his nerve in the pool of guilt he was drowning in. He had caught sight of Rude's office as they left, and that had nearly undone his resolve. He and Rufus kissed methodically, there was no passion to get in the way of their goal, and Reno tugged open Rufus' shirt quickly. "You wear too many clothes, boss."

Rufus chuckled and let Reno tug his many layers apart without interference. "I apologize. Next time I'll just come to you naked; how does that sound?"

Reno pulled open the last layer of suit and growled at the Kevlar vest beneath. "Dammit, why the hell wear one of these things when you've got fifty layers between you and the bullet already?"

Rufus blinked at the Kevlar that Tseng had been making him wear since they had met. He didn't understand Reno's frustration, but he knew that he wanted the thing off and he wanted it off instantly. He didn't want to be wearing a reminder of Tseng while he did things to Reno. It just didn't seem right. He undid the fastenings and let it slip off into Reno's hands. "Because Tseng is paranoid."

Reno hummed and latched his lips onto Rufus' chest; eyes open so he wouldn't forget who he was molesting. He didn't need to say the wrong name tonight, even if he didn't want an actual relationship with Rufus, he couldn't burn bridges between them like that. He could feel Rufus' heartbeat under his lips as he kissed his breastbone, eyes trained on Rufus' face so he wouldn't lose focus.

Things felt jarred and disjointed, like they had skipped several vital steps in the game they played, but neither of them cared as they began devouring each other, first in the limousine and then in Rufus' bedroom. Rufus carried Reno up the stairs, all thoughts focused on where he wanted his cock to be once they got to his bedroom. Despite the lack of sparks flying through the air as they explored each other, it was exploration nonetheless and they both gained pleasure from it. Reno was stripped bare by the time he was throw unceremoniously onto Rufus' bed, and the remainders of Rufus' clothes weren't long on following. Reno pressed into the touches and let Rufus inside without hesitation, comparing him to Rude the whole time while trying to keep the sounds pouring out of his mouth under control.

Rufus didn't pay attention to what Reno mewled as he pounded into him; he was too focused on getting what he wanted out of the activity. His body was throbbing with a need to tear the red-head asunder with pleasure. He was determined to wear them both out, he didn't want to deal with the awkward conversation that would undoubtedly follow the sex and if they could both fall asleep soon after he would be a happier man. He gripped Reno's hips tightly and bit him roughly, breaking the skin in a few places as he pried noises from Reno's throat. It was good that Reno liked it rough; Rufus was sure that anyone else would have thrown him off for such abusive treatment after the first drop of blood flowed through parted skin.

Reno learned quickly that with Rufus, noise was everything. Rufus would bite through his skin until he made a sound as he bit through his lip in an effort to keep the noises back. He was littered with large swelling bites and bruises by the time they were halfway through and he had stopped trying to hold back. If Rufus wanted noises, he would get noises; no matter what wanted out of his throat he let it pour out. Rufus didn't seem to mind that half of the time Reno screamed for Rude.

Rufus threw his head back as he finally released, groaning loud enough to wake Dark Nation. Reno matched his volume as he released, splattering them both with his cum. Rufus didn't mind, he didn't care what was on him so long as he was sated. Rufus pulled out once Reno's body relaxed enough for him to remove himself and he rolled to his side, humming in contentment. He could hear Reno panting softly and he lazily wrapped an arm around shaking shoulders, pulling the red-head closer. "Night, Reno."

Reno blinked as he was practically forced to drape himself over Rufus' chest. He hadn't figured Rufus would be a post-sex cuddler; he had assumed Rufus would shove him from the bed the way he always shoved himself from the bed. He listened as Rufus' breathing slowed and deepened, his chest soon rattling with snores under his ear. Once he was sure Rufus was asleep he pried himself out of his arms shakily, dragging himself to the bathroom with difficulty; Rufus has pounded his legs to jelly. He sat on the tiled floor as he waited for the water to warm up, wincing as post-sex soreness washed over him; he didn't have any pleasures to recover from since he had already felt them and let the fall away. He definitely enjoyed sex with Rude more, but he felt much saner after sex with Rufus. He wasn't conflicted, he wasn't hurt by his own indecision, he didn't have anything to think about except the fact that he wanted to vomit. He felt sickened by what he had just done; he felt like he had cheated, but he didn't have a relationship to cheat in. All he had had to do was wait one night and then he would be back in Rude's bed again, he could have bargained with Elena or Tseng until one of them agreed to watch the man while he went out with Rude. Instead he had skipped into Rufus' bed and let himself be used. It was so obvious that neither of them gave a damn about each other in the romantic sense, Reno must have screamed Rude's named fifteen times and he could've sworn that he heard Rufus moan for Tseng, but he had allowed the sex to continue anyways.

Reno let the scalding water wash away his sins and once the heat faded he let the cool water soothe his burns. He turned the water off once he spotted sunlight streaming through the bathroom window and he dried off in a melancholy mood. He found his clothes and pulled them on, ignoring Dark Nation's sleepy grumbles as he ripped one of his socks from her jaws. He looked at himself in the mirror and sighed, fingering the slightly scabbed bruises that roamed down his neck and into his shirt. He sighed as he spotted Rufus in the mirror behind him. "You broke the skin. Not cool."

Rufus sighed and hugged Reno from behind, nuzzling the purpled spots on his neck. "I apologize. I thought you liked it rough."

Reno nodded and let Rufus' hands trail over his waistband. "I do, but blood isn't a kink for me; especially when it's my blood. Just don't bite so hard next time." Reno felt himself tense as the words left his mouth, but he couldn't take them back. He had just promised Rufus a second night, and he would most likely give him a third and fourth night and many nights after that. He had to remind himself that it was for the best, that he was obviously unable to do anything but hurt Rude, but it still hurt when Rufus' lips trailed down his neck. He took a deep breath and braced himself for a day of stress and upset as he let Rufus capture his lips.

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Author's Note: This chapter has been getting on my nerves for a week because I didn't want it to end this way but Reno wouldn't do anything that made sense and Rufus was just being a depressive horn-dog and Rude and Tseng didn't care enough to play nicely and….yeah. Sorry for the evilness and the way huge gap between updates, but I'm trying my best and hope you all understand.


	8. Chapter 8

Tseng sighed and rubbed his eyes, the pen held in one hand ignored as he scratched it across his face. He had had trouble sleeping the night before; images of Reno and Rufus in the throes of passion made his nightmares unbearable and he had broken his last bottle of brandy in a fit of rage once he had gotten home to find it half empty. He shouldn't have lost his temper, but he had been looking forward to a night of oblivion and half a bottle wouldn't send him there. Unfortunately, he hadn't even been able to dull his sense of his pain because of his folly. He had lain awake most of the night, imagining them together, and he had ground his teeth to powder. When he had finally gotten to sleep, he had dreamt of them. He didn't want to be at work today, but there wasn't anywhere else he could go. He needed something to take his mind off of his exhaustion and the duplicate, triplicate filing was perfectly tedious enough to garner his attention.

He was tired, irritable, and when Rufus came into his office he threw a stapler at his head. Thankfully, Rufus was able to dodge the projectile before it could collide with his skull. Tseng sighed and rubbed his forehead as Rufus glared at him. "What do you want?"

Rufus set his hands on his hips and glared evenly at Tseng. "I'd like a warning before you decide to throw things at me. I can't give a speech with blood pouring into my eyes."

"Speech?" Tseng blinked and looked through his schedule, his tired and bloodshot eyes finally picking up the red inked notice he had left for himself almost a month ago. He quickly sorted out his papers, gathering what he and Rufus would need.

Rufus watched Tseng with a raised eyebrow, trying not to admire the way thin strands of loose hair drifted over his face. The fact that Tseng hadn't put his hair up confused and intrigued him. "You forgot?"

Tseng nodded and stood, papers held loosely in his hands as he passed them to Rufus. "I assume you will want Reno to accompany you." His words were bitter and he felt frown lines crease his forehead before he could stop them.

Rufus shook his head, jerking the papers from Tseng's hands and looking them over as he walked out of the room. "Reno may be great in bed but he doesn't know shit about speeches."

Tseng clenched his hands into fists as he followed, anger boiling in his veins. He walked a step behind Rufus, just like he always did. "So you finally added his notch to your bedpost?"

Rufus nodded and looked over his speech. "Of course I did. You would know that if you paid any attention. Apparently Rude's pissed about it too. They've been having issues all day."

Tseng blinked; surprised he had missed the fighting duo. He couldn't be blamed really, normally when Reno got in a fight some part of the building got destroyed, but Rude was probably keeping their argument from becoming physical. Tseng opened the door to Rufus' limousine, sliding in next to him. Rufus looked over his papers, professionally lost in thought as he memorized what he needed to say. Tseng resisted the urge to watch him; normally he would subtly gaze at Rufus as he mouthed the words of his speech, eyes focused on the way his lips moved. Today, however, was not a day to spend pandering to his lust for Rufus.

Tseng stood behind Rufus as he gave his speech, eyes darting around as he checked the small crowd for danger. He might not be fond of Rufus and his lechery at the moment, but he wouldn't allow the man to die because of his poor choices. As he watched and waited, hands folded behind him as Rufus' words droned through his ears, he plotted.

The fact that Reno and Rude were arguing over Reno's nighttime activities with Rufus confirmed his suspicion that Rude was Reno's original biter. Now that Reno had decided to move on to sleep with Rufus, Rude was obviously feeling betrayed. Tseng felt a small frown cross his face as he thought, wondering how he would be able to get the two back together so that Reno would get out of Rufus' bed. If Reno left Rufus, then everything would be fine. If Rufus left Reno, well, things normally went bad for the other person when Rufus left them. When his past lovers had left him Rufus had gone to him for comfort and support, something he wanted him to do again. When Rufus had let his past lovers, Rufus had gone on to new quarry without even batting an eyelash.

Tseng followed Rufus off the podium wordlessly, opening the door for him and sliding in beside him without hesitation. Rufus sighed and swept his hair back, rubbing at his eyes and tossing the pages of his speech to the floor. "I hate giving speeches and it's so damned annoying when people decide they're going to clap before I can finish. It makes them last longer."

Tseng ignored his boss, letting Rufus rant quietly about his speech as he thought. _Another mission, _he thought, smiling softly at the idea. _I send them off together to a remote location to gather intel and they come back a happy couple again._ He let Rufus' words drone through his ears as he piecing together a mock-assignment that the duo would easily be able to carry out without any problems. He would send them off on Monday, the sooner they left the better.

Reno slammed Rude's office door shut behind him, eyes wet with unshed tears as he went. Rude clenched his hands in front of him on his desk, eyes shut tight. Reno hadn't made any excuses, hadn't tried to apologize for what he did, he had simply admitted it. Rude had been questioning him about it all day, trying to figure out what he had done wrong, what he had done to break their relationship, and then Reno had landed the final blow. Rude kneaded his head in his hands as the words Reno had muttered before slamming his door echoed through his brain. _"We didn't have a relationship, Rude, we had sex. There's a difference."_ Rude could hear the pain in Reno's voice when he said it, however, and knew there was more to Reno's betrayal than he let on. Rude would get Reno back if it cost him everything and this time, he wouldn't let Reno leave. He would keep him by his side until he had finished telling him how he felt a to hell with the consequences.

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Author's Note: Yay plotting!

**I didn't do a very good grammar check on this one, so if you spotted any mistakes allow me to express my sincere apologies.**


	9. Chapter 9

Tseng lay back quietly, ignoring Rufus and Reno's quiet conversation in the other room. He hadn't been able to get a mission plan together that would send Reno and Rude off for an extended period of time. It was hard to get Reno away from Rufus for a mission when Rufus kept forcing Tseng to send lower members of the Turks to take care of the 'problems' he kept creating. Rufus knew what he was after; it was so obvious that he didn't approve of their lust-based relationship that even Reno could pick up on his anger. Reno rarely ever picked up on anyone's emotions, he wasn't known for being empathetic. Tseng thought it was probably why his relationship with Rude had failed in the first place.

It had been almost a week since Reno's time as Rufus' babysitter was supposed to be over, but the red-head still hung around in the evenings after work. Sometimes he stayed overnight but most nights he and Rufus had a quick fuck, Rufus fell asleep, and Reno showered and left as quickly as he could afterward. Tseng would listen as Dark Nation tried to rip away the legs on Reno's pants and smile even though it was usually one in the morning when Reno finally felt that Rufus was asleep enough for him to leave. Dark Nation loathed Reno, just like she loathed anything that was bad for Rufus. The large beast had a reputation as a vicious mutt, but she had never been anything but cuddly and loveable towards Tseng. She knew what was good for her master and she made it apparent when she didn't approve of his choices.

Soon Reno would leave, he and Rufus had already had their 'play time' and Tseng knew Reno had not left yet only because he was still recovering. The small rose-tinted blossoms drying on his shirt around his neck bespoke the use Rufus put him through. When Tseng had seen Rufus carry Reno out of his room he had shook his head in disappointment, Rufus had used Reno to the point where he couldn't move. _Rufus is too rough with his toys,_ Tseng thought dryly, waiting for Reno to gather up the strength to leave. The sooner Reno left the sooner he could make another attempt to talk sense into Rufus. His attempts never worked, he only made Rufus angrier and made himself more confused, but he always tried.

He could hear a small commotion outside his room as Dark Nation romped towards his partially open door, Rufus was obviously not happy about whatever she had done. Reno was swearing and Tseng could see him holding his hand in pain. It was a wonderful sight and Tseng couldn't keep a small smile off his face. When Dark Nation started attacking Reno left, no matter how tired he was.

Rufus was scolding Dark Nation loudly as she sauntered into Tseng's room, pushing the door ajar with her head and shutting it with her agile tentacle. Tseng smiled and sat up, patting the blankets beside him to invite her up. Dark Nation jumped onto the bedspread and laid her heavy head in his lap, a small purr of arrogant happiness rumbling through the throat that was pressed against his thighs. He scratched her ears gently and watched her tentacle sway, twitching and curling the way a cat's tail swings proudly after it has just snatched a particularly juicy mouse. There was a small tint of red on the end of her tentacle and Tseng sighed, patting her side gently. "You shouldn't have done that, Nation. Rufus is going to be angry at both of us."

Dark Nation didn't seem to care as she pressed into his hands, rumbling happily. Tseng smiled and scratched her, a rare smile that he saved for Dark Nation and her Reno-hating antics. He didn't approve of her causing any real damage to the red-head, but a knick in the hand or a missing section of pants was something he could easily ignore. Tseng hummed and listened to Reno and Rufus argue outside, their voices rose steadily until their argument was cut off by the slam of a door. Dark Nation could always separate them far quicker than Tseng and his disapproving looks could.

Rufus slammed Tseng's door open and glared at him, blue eyes stony with rage. "Nation! Come!"

Dark Nation ignored him, her tentacle waving happily as she pressed into Tseng's now-still hands to beg for more attention. Rufus frowned and glared at Tseng, shoulders tense and straight as a board. Tseng could feel heated anger pouring from him and, in a rare moment of cowardice, felt the need to tremble and look away. Tseng, who had stared Death in the face more times than he could remember, was afraid because Rufus was going to throw a temper tantrum.

Rufus walked over to the bed and dragged Dark Nation off it by the scruff of her neck, ignoring the long scratches she left on the sheets as she tried to keep her grip on the fabric. Tseng was glad Rufus kept her nails filed; if they had been any longer his legs would be as ripped as the fabric.

Rufus tossed her out of the room angrily, ignoring the small welts her thrashing tentacle left on his arm. "I'll deal with you in a bit, Nation!" Rufus slammed the door and turned on Tseng, ignoring the whimpering and scratching coming from outside the door. Tseng made a move to stand and Rufus crossed the room, snatching him by his upper-arms and forcing him back onto the bed with an angry growl, "You turned my own pet against me! Why do you always make her hate people I'm with!"

Tseng's instincts kicked in and, before he could stop himself, he had Rufus pinned against the bed and had his forearm pressed against his twitching Adam's apple. Rufus glared up at him, his manicured fingernails digging into the skin on Tseng's arm and side as he tried to get a good enough grip to flip them over. Tseng didn't budge, his arm pressing deeper into Rufus' throat until the blonde stopped struggling. Tseng frowned and glared into the steely eyes inches from his own, moving his arm from Rufus' throat to his collarbone so that he didn't strangle the man. "I don't turn her against you, you turn her against you."

Rufus kept his grip on Tseng tight, not wanting the man to think that he had given up on trying to force him away. "Animals don't just turn against their master's, Tseng, someone has to turn them."

"She hasn't turned against you; she only goes after the people you're with. Haven't you picked up on that yet? She's protective of you and she's letting you know she doesn't want you with those people." Tseng kept his grip firm, but he loosened the force behind it. Rufus didn't try to struggle further and he continued his lecture, suddenly very aware of their proximity. "Animals use their instincts to choose potential mates, Rufus, and since humans don't have any instincts maybe you should listen when Dark Nation tries to tell you how incompatible you and Reno are. Hell, anyone who watches you two can tell that you barely like each other." The last time they had been this close…he didn't want to think about that; not when they were that close again.

"Who do you think she wants me to be with?" Rufus shivered softly as he stared into Tseng's face, no longer able to glare as he let his left hand drift over Tseng's side. Tseng trembled but didn't move, not willing to show anymore weakness than what his body naturally betrayed. Rufus loosened his grip on Tseng's arm and let his right hand drift as well, trying not to think back to what had happened the last time Tseng let his hands drift without supervision; he didn't need another reminder of how impermanent any relationship between them would be. The night on Tseng's couch had been enough of a lesson that he should have learned, but his head was too thick for the information to process fully; he would always think that he had a chance in the future, he just didn't think he had a chance in the now. Besides, Tseng had been drunk the last time, even if Rufus had not; he needed to learn that Tseng just didn't do what he wanted him to do while he was sober, not unless it was something work related.

Tseng pressed his arm against Rufus' chest a little more firmly, trying to resist the urge to press into the unblemished hands stroking him. "Stop it, Rufus. We need to have a serious conversation about this."

Rufus frowned and let his hands keep roaming, gently trying to pull Tseng closer. He internally cheered in adulation when Tseng bent a little closer to him. "Why does everything have to be serious when you're sober?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Tseng frowned as he felt the arm pinned onto the bed next to Rufus' head start to bend, pulling the rest of him closer to the far too warm and confusing blonde. He wanted to be closer, but at the same time he wanted to run home where he would be met with austere reminders of how things were supposed to be.

Rufus kept guiding Tseng closer, determined to steal at least one kiss even if it caused him a black eye. "I mean that you never seem to relax when you're sober. You're always stuck on Turk-mode and you can't turn it off without at least three glasses of bourbon. I hate fucking bourbon." That last bit was a lie and he knew it, he had loved the taste of bourbon on Tseng's lips when he had kissed him that night.

"I'll make a note of that then. I'll drink more bourbon to keep you off me." Tseng could feel Rufus' breath on his lips now, the arm pressed against Rufus' chest wasn't firm or forceful anymore, it was just lying there shaking as he tried to calm himself. He couldn't find the command in his overfilled brain that would make him move away; the operator he normally dialed for problems like this had thrown all the neatly filed compartments of his brain onto the floor and left in frustration.

Rufus chuckled softly, already tasting Tseng on his tongue as he eagerly drank in the hitched breaths the dark-haired man was puffing down on him. "If that's the case then I'm going to smash every bottle of bourbon from here to Modeoheim."

"I'll import some from Wutai then. You can't get every bottle." Tseng took his turn at a chuckle as he felt Rufus' hands move in opposite directions across his back, one trailing down to toy with the waistband of the sweatpants he wore and the other dragging up to tangle into his hair. He didn't resist when Rufus pulled his head down and he kept his eyes open as their lips touched, gently and hesitantly at first, but slowly growing in force and intimacy as his eyelids drifted closed; Rufus' eyelids had fallen together moments before when the gentle caress of their lips had lost resistance on his side.

Rufus was scared, more scared than he had been the first time he had dared to drag Tseng into the level of intimacy that he had him in now. The first time had been easier, there had been fewer words and no one else had been in his bed barely an hour before. Tseng had been willing almost from the start that time, but he had had to force willingness from the man this time. He feared that the deeper the kiss became the faster Tseng would pull away, but Tseng didn't seem interested in pulling away. Rufus slipped Tseng's clothes off without meeting any resistance; Tseng hadn't protested when Rufus dragged his thin white tank top over his shoulders and had even assisted him in removing it. Rufus moaned softly when Tseng's lips pressed back into his, the small gap of time where they hadn't been touching had been torture.

Tseng let his inhibitions go, forgetting everything as he explored the contours of Rufus' body with his fingers and the taste of his mouth with his tongue. He felt his stress melt away under the heat of Rufus' body pressed against his own, the warmth growing even as their clothes fell away and let the breeze of the ceiling fan drift over parts previously covered. He could hear moans rising from both their chests and he swallowed Rufus' sounds even as he made his own, drinking in pleasure from touches he barely registered. All that existed in the moments of pleasure that passed like snapshots through his brain was Rufus; every taste and touch and sound and look that Tseng caught through flickering closed lids fueled his pleasure and made him drive deeper and faster, he couldn't even remember when the sex had started and the play had stopped.

Rufus tugged at Tseng's hair when he needed a breath; in their passionate play Tseng seemed to have drained his lungs dry. He was exploding inside, he could feel the sparks of pleasure darting over and through and into every bit of him. His heart was racing wildly and he couldn't moan and scream his pleasure out fast enough. Tseng was in complete control of him and he basked helplessly in pleasure, too close to bursting to do anything more. When he finally did rip apart at the seams he cried, not from the pain, but from the pleasure of being utterly and completely stripped of all his haughty attempts at strength. He held Tseng close, both of them panting roughly and dripping in sweat and pleasure made fluids. He could feel Tseng's heartbeat against his own as tears dripped from the corners of his eyes, his every fiber still alight with pleasure and need even though he couldn't find the energy to fulfill the needs he should have already sated. He shook softly as Tseng finally managed the strength to un-collapse himself, lifting his warm, sweaty self off of Rufus and out of him. Tseng chuckled huskily and kissed his eyelids as he whimpered at the loss his removal left him with. "So, you can cry."

Rufus laughed softly and pressed into Tseng's kisses, chest heaving. "Course I can. Everyone can."

"But you never do." Tseng hummed softly and rolled off of Rufus, laying on his back and pulling the blonde closer.

Rufus draped himself over Tseng and buried his head in the crook of his neck, eyelids fluttering shut from exhausted contentedness. "Don't have any reason too."

Tseng hummed and rubbed Rufus' shoulder gently, gazing at the blur of fan blades centered in the middle of the ceiling. He felt more relaxed than he could ever remember feeling, but a question still nagged at him, a question thrust forward by the something he hadn't given any consideration too. "What are we going to do about Reno? I'm not letting you go back to him after this. You know that, right?"

Rufus nodded and let his eyes drift shut. "I know. We'll figure it out in the morning, okay?"

Tseng nodded and let his eyes close, enjoying the contrast of Rufus' warmth and the chill of the fan. He felt Rufus' breathing even out, his own breathing slowing to match the blonde's. The next morning might bring hell he'd have to pay, but he'd deal with it. This night of comfort was worth any consequence.

**

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Author's Note: It's been awhile, huh? Sorry about the wait. It was worth it, right? If it wasn't; deal with it. Oh, so you know, I listened to the songs 'House on a Hill' and 'If Tomorrow Came' by Kamelot while writing this. Just an fyi that probably means nothing to anyone else xD


	10. Chapter 10

Tseng woke feeling refreshed and relaxed; a feeling that made him wary about opening his eyes. He hadn't felt so at ease without alcohol in such a long time that he had almost thought it was impossible for him to feel content on his own ever again. It had happened once before, after that night he and Rufus had spent on his couch, but it had quickly went away once he realized that he had woken up alone. This time he felt warmth beside him and he desperately hoped it wasn't Dark Nation cuddling him to try and ease his pain. He wanted Rufus to have stayed with him the whole night, but he didn't have his hopes high. The only way he could find out if he had been wrong to let his guard down and to allow the same instance to happen twice was to open his eyes and see for himself, but he was feeling too cowardly for that this morning. He wanted to enjoy the contentment that he had woken with, but as the minutes ticked by his own uncertainty stole his comfort from him.

Rufus woke with a similar feeling of content relaxation, but without all the uncertainty that plagued Tseng's half-awake mind. He had no reason to think that Tseng would have left his side during the night; after all, Tseng had never left his side before, so why would he do it now? He didn't need to bother himself by worrying over impossibilities. Rufus stretched and let his joints crack and protest loudly. It felt good to wake up with a warm body next to his; he had almost forgotten how good it was have company that stuck around. He ran a hand through his sleep and sex mussed hair and looked up at the ceiling, letting his eyes follow the rhythmic twirl of the fan-blades above them. He wasn't going to go to work today and neither was Tseng. He didn't want to leave bed at all today unless he had to and work was superfluous enough that he could skip it. Besides, he didn't want to face Reno. He hated break-ups, especially when the other person started crying, and he wanted to put it off as long as possible.

Rufus sat up after about thirty minutes of watching the fan, no longer able to ignore his bladder's protesting screams. He took a quick look at Tseng and smiled as he realized that he was awake too. "I'll be right back, I've got to go to the bathroom or I'm going to blow up." He didn't know why he needed to qualify his reasons for going to the bathroom to Tseng, but he did it anyways.

Tseng nodded and sat up, stretching lazily. Now that he knew Rufus had stayed, he felt safe enough in his happiness to allow himself to bask in it. Soon enough he and Rufus would have to talk about the Reno business, but that could wait a few minutes or maybe even a few hours. He didn't want to ruin the easy smiles Rufus was giving him this morning by bringing up a touchy issue. Rufus wouldn't protest giving Reno up, but he wouldn't want to get rid of the man himself. He would want Tseng to scare Reno off for him and Tseng would flat out refuse…at least at first. Rufus would eventually persuade him into doing it for him; he always did.

Rufus washed his hands and walked leisurely back to the bedroom, letting his muscles stretch out as he walked. He could hear Dark Nation pacing in the hallway outside Tseng's room and he opened the door, letting her rub against his leg as she walked to the bed. "Oh, _now_ you're sorry."

Tseng smiled and let Nation curl up beside him. "I think she's gloating, not apologizing."

Rufus chuckled and shut the door; he didn't want any of the help peeking into their room this morning to see if they had done the dirty last night. Sometimes his maids could be so nosey. "She should be apologizing. She left welts on my arm." Rufus sat on the bed beside Nation and let her lick his hand, his upset with her completely fabricated.

Tseng smiled and stroked Nation's fur, slightly jealous of her tongue against Rufus' arm. "Don't be a baby; those welts barely lasted five minutes. Besides, you were too pre-occupied with other things to give a damn about them."

Rufus hummed and leaned over Nation's back to give Tseng a tender kiss, half-wishing that she had curled up at the foot of the bed instead of right in the middle of it. "I'm not a baby; I'm just stating facts."

Tseng returned the kiss gladly, holding Nation's tentacle down as she tried to flick it between them. "You're just whining now."

Rufus chuckled softly as Nation rolled onto her back and squirmed between them, trying to budge them apart as she begged for belly-scratches. He scrubbed his manicured finger-nails through her fur and moved aside as her hind leg started scratching at the air. "There's a little whining to be done today anyways. I just want to get the stupid whining out of the way first."

Tseng nodded and scratched under Nation's chin as Rufus scratched her belly, smiling as she let out a happy growl of contentment. "The other whining can wait until after breakfast, right?"

Rufus nodded and kept scratching at Nation's belly, unable to keep back a smile as he watched her bask in the small attentions he and Tseng were giving her. "Nation, you're so spoiled." Nation let out a low, happy growl as if to tell him how little she cared about that fact and he chuckled in spite of himself.

Tseng smiled as Nation turned to her side so that Rufus' hands were still able to reach the best itching spots on her stomach, pressing her back into Tseng's hands. Tseng chuckled and scratched at her silky fur happily. "You're right, she is spoiled."

Rufus and Tseng spent a good deal of their morning in bed with Dark Nation, scrubbing at her fur as they small talked the wee hours of the morning away. Rufus didn't even bother to call the company and let someone know he and Tseng weren't going to be showing up; it was common knowledge that if he didn't show up by noon he wasn't going to show up at all and if Tseng didn't show up either then no one had any reason to worry and if they knew what was best for them they would keep to themselves and not bother him. Rufus was confident enough in his employees that he didn't need to worry about whether or not everything was getting done the way it should be. Tseng was not quite as at ease about playing hooky, but Rufus distracted him enough with tender touches and happy smiles that he didn't reach for his phone once all morning, even though it must have rung thirty times. Elena was going to have to learn that if Tseng didn't answer his phone it wasn't the end of the world.

Reno was irritated. The gash Dark Nation's tentacle had left on the inside of his hand itched like crazy and he had no one to complain to. He was still upset with Rufus for what Dark Nation had done and he was considering dropping their pseudo-relationship altogether, but no matter how sick he was of Rufus breaking his rule by breaking the skin he wouldn't leave him just yet. He didn't want to be alone. Tseng hadn't shown up so he couldn't pester him about anything and he was avoiding Rude like the plague. He had been avoiding Rude since he started his relationship with Rufus, he was afraid he would do something stupid and let slip certain things he'd rather take to his grave. Elena was pissed at him and refused to talk to him, partially because he was with Rufus but also because a few days ago he had shown up to work drunk and with a pocketful of rotten eggs which he had kindly hidden around her office. She still hadn't found them all. Reno wasn't even sure where he had gotten the eggs, he didn't remember, he had been too sauced at the time of finding to really register where they had come from.

Reno twirled in his chair and did his best to ignore the painful itch in his hand, grumbling irritably at nothing. Tseng hadn't shown up so no one in their department had any work to do and the work he had to catch up on was boring and tedious and he didn't want to do it. Besides, no one was there to tell him he had to so it didn't matter what he did. Technically he could leave now and no one would care. He would still get paid for a full day's work and his paperwork would still be there tomorrow morning, so why was he bothering to stay when there were so many other places he wanted to be?

Reno got up, sick of being bored. He sauntered to the men's room, thinking that a few loosened pipes would keep him sufficiently entertained for the rest of the day. He passed Rude's office on tip-toes, wanting to slap himself for acting skittish. He had nothing to fear from Rude except temptation, but temptation was frightening as hell at the moment and he'd rather not deal with it. It made his head hurt and his heart ache so he was going to tip-toe past Rude's office quietly and hope the bald, debonair man wouldn't pursue him if he did see him. Lately Rude had been unwilling to talk to anyone and tried to get Reno's attention whenever he was close enough, but after Reno had set his EMR against his locked door-knob while Rude tried to bust it open to talk to him he had been keeping his distance. Reno had hated shocking Rude the way he had, but he hadn't felt like he had any other choice. If he let Rude get close then the feelings he was trying to choke would be invigorated and would fight harder against his will-power.

Reno wished he had thought to bring tools with him to the bathroom, trying to unscrew pipes with one hand was obnoxious and since his left hand was in too much pain too cooperate he was going to have to do things one-handed for awhile. It was a good thing he was right-handed, if he was a freak lefty he'd be in even worse shape.

Reno was underneath the sink and finally getting the pipe he had been working on for thirty minutes to budge when a tap against his foot shocked him into jumping and hitting his head against the porcelain underside of the sink. He swore and held his head, sitting back on his haunches and looking up at whoever had surprised him through watery eyes. He flushed dark as Rude offered him a hand up, looking at it warily. "Need help with that, Red?"

Reno nodded hesitantly, his desire to watch plumbers try to fix the mess he made for them over-powering his need to run and hide. "I can't get the pipe undone."

Rude nodded and knelt down so that he could see the sink. "Did you try turning it to the left?"

Reno frowned and rubbed the small lump on his head where scalp had made contact with sink. "No, you're supposed to turn it to the right, right? Isn't it lefty-tighty, righty-loosey?"

Rude chuckled and started turning the pipe, having a much easier time at it than Reno had had. "You've got it backwards again. Its righty-tighty, lefty-loosey."

Reno snapped his fingers and had the look of someone who had just had an epiphany. "Right! I always mess that up!"

Rude nodded and handed Reno the pipe once it came undone, "At least you were smart enough to shut off the water supply before you started plumping. Otherwise we'd be drenched. What do you need a pipe for anyways?"

Reno shrugged and stood, tapping the pipe against his leg as he tried to think of a good, non-incriminating place to hide it. "For piping."

Rude stood and chuckled, wiping his hands on his pant-legs. "Sure, piping. Don't hide it in the vent, Reno; they always know it's you when you hide it in the vent."

Reno blushed and stopped heading for the vent, looking around again for a new hiding spot. "Right…um…inside the toilet tank?"

Rude nodded softly and lifted the porcelain lid that covered the tank of water. "That's new; it won't immediately point back to you."

Reno grinned and slipped the pipe into the water, "Let's turn on the water and get the hell out of here then."

Rude nodded and knelt by the sink, looking at Reno curiously. "What's our alibi?"

Reno blinked and tapped his chin thoughtfully, doing his best to ignore the butterflies in his stomach. He smiled at Rude, regretting his words the instant he said them. "We're going to lunch."

Rude nodded and turned the water supply on, cringing back and tugging Reno out of the bathroom as water rushed out. "It's a date. Go grab your jacket and we'll go."

Reno shook his head irritably; he thought he had established that he didn't want to spend time with Rude? It hurt both of them and it was obvious. Why did Rude keep pressing the matter? "No."

Rude shrugged, "Fine, don't wear a jacket."

"I mean, no, I don't want to go." Reno tugged his arm from Rude's gentle grip and crossed it over his chest, lacing it with his other arm.

Rude sighed and turned to face Reno, his face stony despite the vulnerability in his voice. "Why not? I'm buying; we can go to that place with the soup you like."

Reno chewed his lip, the offer was tempting but…he couldn't go to lunch with Rude when he was still with Rufus. It didn't feel right, not when he was still in love with Rude despite his vain attempts to un-attach himself. "I just…I'm not hungry, okay?" His stomach chose that moment to rumble and remind him that he had skipped breakfast.

"Liar." Rude sighed softly and shook his head, pulling off his sunglasses. Why he wore them inside, Reno would never know. "Can we please talk about this?"

Reno shook his head and fidgeted nervously, keeping his tongue under strict censorship as he responded. "I don't think we need to talk about it. It's done. We're over."

"So you're tossing out our friendship too? Just because you're done using me?" Rude frowned angrily, his voice thick with bitterness and venom. Water was surging out of the bathroom behind them and Rude did his best to ignore it as it flowed into the carpet beneath his feet. He needed to focus on Reno now, the right words now would make or break the recovery he wanted. He didn't want to feel so bitter and mad at Reno; he wanted Reno to be in love with him again.

Reno blinked in surprise. "I didn't use you!"

"We have different definitions of using then." Rude felt a low growl enter his voice and he regretted it instantly as Reno's face frowned with rage.

Reno looked down at his feet, fists curling in anger. "Maybe we do need to talk about it then."

"Grab your jacket then. Lunch is my treat." Rude turned on his heel and walked towards the elevator, ignoring the water that was squelching beneath his shoes.

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**Author's Note: I always got the righty-tighty lefty-loosey rhyme wrong when I was a kid. For some reason it just never clicked in my head back then. Anywho, I hope you enjoy this chappie. Hopefully I can update faster now that I don't have to worry about my stories 'What I Want' or 'Am I Better Off?'. That puts me down to 4 stories! Woo! It's manageable! **


	11. Chapter 11

Reno was still grumbling as he followed Rude to his car. He had refused to grab his jacket; it wasn't cold outside and he didn't like being told what to do, but he had relented to letting Rude drive. With the way gas prices were it was simply smarter to carpool and conserve. Reno slipped into the passenger seat and buckled in while Rude started the car, his shoulders as straight as a board. How could Rude think he had used him? He hadn't, that was simply fact. Okay, he had to relent a little on that part; he _had_ used Rude a little, but they had both benefited while it lasted and he _had_ been head-over-heels for him, so was it really using? They had to discuss that fact to figure out if it was or not. For now Reno was just trying to look forward to his favorite soup and a working alibi.

Rude drove quietly, trying to get a feel for how Reno was reacting to what he had said. He didn't seem mad, he seemed confused. Of course, Reno always seemed confused when he was around. He couldn't quite understand why Reno was confused around him, but he had a hope that it had to do with unresolved feelings of more than lust and friendship. He wanted Reno to be in love with him; he really did, he just didn't know how to ask if he was. Rufus had complicated things by taking Reno's time and attention and Rude hated the blonde for it. When had Rufus ever had a relationship that didn't start with him taking someone who was already taken? Rude had to admit his claim on Reno hadn't been very public, but Rufus had to have known that it was there. Rufus may not have been able to see it, but Tseng had to have warned him about it. Tseng saw everything.

Rude parked and Reno scrambled out of the car, tripping over his own feet as he did so. The restaurant was called Josephine's and it was a fairly nice restaurant, yet not overly expensive. It wasn't fancy enough to be considered fine dining, but it wasn't so casual that it could be considered a dive. It was fairly crowded inside, but it wasn't loud; the noise level stayed at a dull roar so that people could hear their own conversations without having to worry about the next table being able to eavesdrop. It was the perfect place to have a heart to heart over lunch which, Reno surmised, was probably why Rude had picked it as their lunch spot.

Rude held the door open for Reno and let the hostess pick a table for them, smiling softly all the while. There was no chance Rufus would be here; Rufus didn't go to a restaurant that didn't have five stars and Josephine's only had four. Even if Rufus _did _decide he wanted to eat here he wouldn't eat with the rest of the restaurant, he would demand a separate room for himself. Rude sat across from Reno at their two person table, taking his menu with a small smile. He browsed the menu needlessly; he knew what he wanted to order before he had ever set foot in the place. He almost always got the same thing; a medium rare steak with potatoes and peas. It was his favorite thing on the menu.

Reno didn't even bother looking at the menu, watching Rude instead. How would he defend the fact that he hadn't used Rude without letting slip that he had loved him and still did despite his attempts to make himself love Rufus? He looked at the bandage on his hand, knowing why he could never really be in love with Rufus or have Rufus in love with him. No one could love Rufus without loving his damned guard hound and Reno was _not_ a furry animal person. Give him a pet with scales and slime and he was perfectly happy, give him a fluffy, shedding, four-legged monstrosity and he would rather choke himself on a rusty spoon than pet the thing. Furry animals hated Reno as well; when he was six a cat had made itself his mortal enemy by scratching his arm to pieces when he tried to pet it and since then he had never loved an animal with fur and fluff. He couldn't even stand bunny rabbits. He was an amphibian, insect, and reptile man and that was all there was too it. Rude didn't have any pets, something Reno had missed while he was busy screwing Rufus; Dark Nation had a habit of trying to scratch and claw her way through the door while they did the horizontal monster mash and it drove him crazy. He didn't like it when animal noises interrupted the symphony of slapping flesh playing out around him. It wasn't a kink of his.

They ordered quickly and the waitress jotted their choices down with a happy smile. Rude waited until she had brought them their drinks to start the conversation. "So, where to start?"

"Start with the fact that I have never used you." Reno frowned as he took a sip of his soda.

"Can't start with a lie, Reno." Rude stirred his tea, watching the small whirlpool that formed on the top.

"It's not a lie. It's the truth." Reno did _not_ like being called a liar.

Rude looked up, pulling his sunglasses off with a weary sigh. "Then why did you say we never had a relationship?"

"Because it's true!" Reno frowned, stomach twisting in regret. He could apologize for what he had said, but that would be like taking the nail out of a piece of wood; the wound would always be there no matter what it was covered up with.

Rude grit his teeth, taking a drink to give himself a moment to think on his word choice. "So you say you never used me for sex even though you say we never had a relationship? You made me think we had a relationship even though we couldn't show it at work. Whenever we went out together you were all over me and we had fun; but at work you were cold and distant. I thought you were just trying to be professional for once so I didn't say anything."

"We were fuck-buddies, Rude, not boyfriends. I thought you understood that." Reno couldn't force his eyes to meet Rude's, not when his sunglasses were off.

"The definition of fuck-buddies is people who _use_ each other for sex." Rude frowned softly, staring at Reno in the hopes that he would eventually be able to see what he was thinking.

Reno flinched, his jaw clenched tightly. "I didn't use you."

"But it was only sex for you. Nothing else. I was a means to an end." Rude frowned, stirring his tea faster.

"I…it's not like that!" Reno looked up, eyes teary. Why wouldn't Rude just leave things as they were? Weren't they both happier this way? He had to admit he wasn't, but he had to at least think that Rude benefited from his desertion.

"You mean it _wasn't_ like that. It's over; you pulled the plug on us." Rude frowned, his voice steady and quiet.

Reno sighed, his heart heavy. "It didn't feel right, Rude. You know it didn't. We only ever had sex; even if we had bar time together before we had sex we still only ever had sex. We didn't date, we didn't cuddle afterwards; we only ever had sex."

"That isn't my fault. You're the one who kept leaving. I asked you if you would go to dinner with me, you kept saying no. You wouldn't _let_ me make it a relationship." Rude tried to keep the bitter venom out of his voice and failed, his words laced with it.

Reno looked Rude in the eye, his reasoning finally found. He couldn't ignore the anger and sadness mixed into Rude's normally stoic voice; once the glasses came off Rude's emotions were let out and ignoring them was futile and painful. "I was scared to let it go further."

"Why?" Rude locked eyes with Reno, trying to remember the last time they had looked each other in the eye.

"It…I didn't want to drop you but I thought that if I didn't you'd drop me. I don't want to be rejected by you." Reno averted his eyes now, too embarrassed by his admission to keep looking at Rude's honey brown eyes. "I actually give a damn about you, that's why I can't be in a relationship with you."

Rude blinked, an eyebrow raised. "That is the most fucked up logic I have ever heard."

Reno couldn't help but let out a weak laugh, glad that the waitress was bringing food that would distract them both. "I know, right?"

Rude nodded and waited for the waitress to finish setting out their food before continuing. "So what if I don't reject you? What then?"

"I don't know what then, okay?" Reno stabbed his spoon into his soup, brows furrowed. He really didn't know what to do.

"So even if I tell you I love you and don't have any intention of giving up on you, you still won't be with me?" Rude sighed, cutting his steak. He wanted to at least try and act uninjured by Reno's screwed up perspective.

Reno stirred his soup and nodded, still teary eyed. "No. I won't. I'm with Rufus now."

"And what happens if Rufus finds someone else?" Rude frowned, "You said you don't like being dropped and we both know Rufus is going to drop you."

"I don't give a shit if he drops me, I'm not actually in lo-…I don't actually have feelings for him. Not even as a friend." Reno had almost blurted the L word; he didn't like saying the L word.

Rude caught Reno's stumble over the word love and, even though he was being told a relationship between them would never happen, it lifted his spirits. "Will you at least keep being friends with me?"

"Yeah, I can do that. I miss being friends." Reno smiled softly, slurping at his soup as the tension started dissipating.

"Good. I don't want to lose you as a friend either." Rude smiled and chewed his steak. He wasn't going to give up on Reno that easily, but he could take the necessary steps to make Reno his as long as they were still friends. Hopefully it wouldn't take as long to get Reno to be with him again.

They finished their lunch in silence and Rude left the waitress a sizeable tip, his good mood undisturbed by Reno's reluctant stubbornness. He would get what he wanted and that was that; there was no alternative. Rufus would eventually send Reno packing and Reno knew his arms were always open even if he didn't want to be wrapped in them. Rude could wait, he was a patient man. All he had to do was catch Reno on the rebound after Rufus bounced him out of his bed.

* * *

Rufus rested his head in Tseng's lap as they lay on the couch, his hand tangled in Dark Nation's fur. She was lying on Tseng's feet, chewing on one of her many toys. Rufus and Tseng were recovering from another round of sex and Dark Nation was basking in their glow with them. Tseng had lost count of how many times they had had sex today; his brain was still foggy with pleasure from their last bout of it. They were dressed now; they were both too tired to go for another round and they knew it so they had decided to call it quits for a few hours. Now they were watching a documentary on the after effects of the Wutain war and discussing what the proper way to inform Reno of their relationship was. Rufus wasn't exactly fond of Tseng's idea. "No, we can't have sex in front of him."

"Why not?" Tseng chuckled softly, his hand roaming through Rufus' silky, well-managed hair.

"Because that's just a shitty way to tell him about us and he'll interrupt. You know how he gets when he gets pissed. Besides, I want to tell him before Dark Nation bites him or something." Rufus stroked Dark Nation's fur happily, listening to her rumble appreciatively around her chew toy.

Tseng nodded and bent down to kiss Rufus' temple. "So how will we tell him, or will we?"

"You said I had to let him know it was over." Rufus raised an eyebrow, confused yet slightly intrigued. If Tseng had suddenly developed an open mind and wanted a threesome he would definitely approve of the idea.

Tseng read Rufus' thoughts from the tone of voice he used and, instead of getting mad, mulled the idea over for a split second before tossing it out. He didn't need them to involve anyone in their sex until he had more time to mark Rufus as his own. The smattering of bruises running the length of the blonde's body wasn't a good enough signature of ownership yet. "Maybe you could get him back together with Rude? I've got an idea for that."

Rufus was somewhat disappointed and he was sure it showed on his face. "What's your idea?"

"Send them on a 'mission' to an isolated location and have them spend a few days waiting on a 'package' from an 'informant'." Tseng air quoted the words mission, package, and informant as he spoke to try and communicate what he meant to Rufus.

Rufus grinned, "So we send them to some cushy little cabin for a week waiting on someone that isn't coming or do we eventually send a package full of condoms and shit?"

"Well we don't need to send them shit, but condoms would be appropriate." Tseng chuckled into Rufus' ear, the hand that had been in Rufus' hair stroking down his side.

Rufus moaned softly and pressed into Tseng's touch, sure that he would never get enough of it. They had had sex six times since that morning and Tseng was still turning him on. It was no wonder he was a pile of over-fucked mush right now. "Sounds like a plan. Should we send them to Modeoheim? It's isolated as hell and cold so they'll have to cuddle for warmth."

"Cuddling is good." Tseng licked Rufus' earlobe, humming softly. "You approve of my plan?"

How could he not when Tseng was seducing him while he plotted it? "Course I do. When don't I approve of your plans?" Rufus turned so that he could capture Tseng's lips with his own, pouting when Tseng pulled back just far enough that he could reach without sitting up and his abdominal muscles were so tired that he could hardly manage to turn himself over. "Tease."

Tseng hummed and gave Rufus a gentle peck on the lips before sitting back fully, his hand pressed against Rufus' shaking stomach muscles. "You like it. We'll set the trip up so that they have to leave tonight. I don't want Reno to accidentally walk in on us."

"Me either." Rufus hummed and closed his eyes, feeling exhaustedly content.

"So it's settled then. We send them to Modeoheim for a week, maybe longer if they don't get together when we want them to." Tseng pulled out his cell and dialed Elena, knowing that she would put the proper paperwork in place for their plan to work. He stroked Rufus' hip as he gave her the order, basking in the warm glow of his euphoria. Things seemed perfect, or at least on their way to being perfect and he reveled in his security with Rufus. The man wasn't going to be leaving him any time soon if they kept having sex the way they were. With Rufus a relationship had to be one part emotional connection and at least three parts sexual desire for it to succeed longer than a month. After that month no one really knew if he changed his tastes, Tseng just knew that past that point everyone was dropped like a bag of bricks. It seemed that in thirty days Rufus grew tired of amazing sex and decided that he actually needed to have more than a physical connection with the person he was with and Tseng had high hopes for his chances at lasting longer than one month. So long as Nation kept every other suitor at bay, especially a red-head who could come back from his trip and decide that Rude wasn't good enough for him again, he had a chance.

* * *

**Author's Note: Woo! Next chapter done! **

**Anyone else glad the Reno and Rude had a heart to heart?**

**Tseng is still going to try and push them together; he's not as patient as Rude is. **

**Rude's waiting game will now take place in Modeoheim without any interruptions courtesy of Tseng and Rufus. Woo! Tseng and Rufus are meddling in Reno and Rude's affairs! **

**Who else is excited?**


	12. Chapter 12

Elena waited for Reno and Rude to return to the Turk floor of the building, her feet sloshing through the disturbingly wet carpet as she paced impatiently. She couldn't understand why Tseng had asked her to assign the fighting duo a mission instead of doing it himself, but she was determined to do what she was told as perfectly as possible. Her crush on Tseng probably fueled her determination, but she wasn't going to admit that to anyone. She knew that that was what made her want to succeed, but to everyone else she tried to act like she was simply promotion obsessed. Not that she wasn't promotion obsessed, but that was not what drove her to succeed.

The paperwork in her hand was perfectly executed, every i dotted and every t crossed. The only thing that was missing was a signature from a member of the board that would put it into effect. Had Tseng been there it would have been his job to sign it, but since he was awol today Elena would have to find someone else to sign it. She didn't like most of the board members, they were all obsessed with money and would kiss Rufus' ass happily in order to get it. She wanted someone on the board who treated Rufus the way Tseng treated Rufus, and there was only one person who acted even remotely like Tseng and he would most likely be tinkering in his office on some new cat-themed robot.

Elena checked her watch, knowing that Reno wouldn't be back to take responsibility for his horrible destruction of the bathroom until he was sure that he had a good enough alibi to protect himself. It wasn't like the company didn't have cameras on every floor or that the company wouldn't know exactly when Reno had left the bathroom or how soon afterwards water had started to gush out of it, but Reno wasn't exactly known for being the most intelligent person in the Turks. Elena had time to get an official signature from Reeve to complete her mission from Tseng and send Reno and Rude away for a week or longer. Elena would enjoy the silence once they were gone; there had been so much tension between the two lately that it had started to affect her very negatively.

Elena sloshed through the carpet to the stairs, heading towards Reeve's office with a single minded determination that would keep her from wondering what in the name of the gods was on her shoes. It was just like Reno to bust the plumbing in the bathroom so that no one else could use it. Since the men's bathroom had sprung a leak the water pressure in the women's bathroom was nearly non-existent and the toilets wouldn't flush, which had caused quite a deal of nasal-trauma after lunch; especially since the cafeteria had been serving beef and bean burritos, which were more bean than beef. Elena had made the smart decision to skip lunch in favor of paperwork. It made her stomach upset with her, but at least she didn't have to go to the bathroom while everyone else was having explosive bean issues.

Elena rapped her knuckles against Reeve's office door loudly, trying to get his attention. She wasn't so rude as to open the door without permission, but she did wish Reeve would answer it; she had been knocking for almost twenty minutes and there hadn't been so much as a robotic peep from inside.

Elena frowned and turned, ready to give up and see if she could find someone else to do the signing, when Reeve finally made an appearance. He had been out to lunch and when he left there had been a sign on his door, but it must have fallen off. Reeve could actually see the index card peeking out from under his door where a passing person must have kicked it, but the blonde standing in front of his door didn't seem to have noticed the tiny slip of paper. She had turned her knuckles red with the force she had been using to knock on his door. He smiled at her, knowing she was cross with him from the angry scowl that wrinkled her honey-brown eyes into slits. "Hello, Elena. How can I help you?"

Elena frowned, holding the papers tightly in her hand. "I need a signature and you need to post when you're going to be back to your office!"

Reeve bent down and picked the index card off the floor, flashing it to her briefly before tucking it into his pocket. "I left a note. It just fell off. What do you need signed? Shouldn't Tseng be the one you're asking? Or are you trying to circumnavigate your hard-headed boss by going through me for approval?"

Elena smiled, bristling softly at the idea that she would do anything without Tseng's approval. "Actually he's not here today and he asked me to do this for him while he's out."

Reeve nodded and opened his office door, holding it open for her to invite her in. "Of course, I should have known better than to think you'd do anything without his approval."

Elena walked in, bristling again at the idea that she had to have Tseng's approval for everything she did. She had thought she showed more independence than that. "I can do things without Tseng telling me to, thank you very much!"

"I didn't say you couldn't." Reeve raised an eyebrow and took his seat, waiting for her to hand over the papers he had to sign.

"You insinuated it. It was an inferred insult, but that doesn't make it any less an insult." Elena stood across from Reeve and handed him the paperwork.

Reeve took the papers and started to peruse them leisurely, smirking softly as he found buttons in Elena's personality to press. "Maybe you shouldn't look so hard for insults, Elena. Maybe I was praising your loyalty to your superior, not insulting your dependence on the approval of others."

Elena frowned, "Stop that!"

"Stop what?" Reeve hummed and looked through the papers, noting the perfect rhetoric that was used.

Elena folded her arms over her chest and turned away from Reeve, wondering how she had considered him to be like Tseng at all. Tseng was never immature, and Reeve often was. It was why Reeve built odd cat-bots with strange mannerisms and stranger accents. Elena could see various cat-bot parts lying around Reeve's otherwise tidy office and frowned, wondering where the working one was. "Where's your cat-bot?"

"Cait Sith? He's off somewhere I suppose…" Reeve looked up, watching Elena look his office over critically.

"You don't know where it is? Don't you have a controller for him or something?" Elena raised an eyebrow at Reeve, noting that he had stopped reading. Maybe he had found a flaw in her paperwork?

"Of course I don't. Cait Sith runs on my excess brain power." Reeve closed his eyes and searched for the presence in the back of his mind that was Cait Sith, wondering where his excess brain power had taken the bot this time.

"I didn't know that." Elena tapped the top of the papers gently, trying to subtly remind Reeve what she was here for. Not that she didn't like conversation, but she did have a deadline to meet. Tseng had specified that he wanted Reno and Rude sent out that night and no later.

Reeve opened his eyes and gently pushed Elena's impatient finger away from the paperwork. "Relax, Elena. I'll sign it once I'm done reading it. I don't sign anything I haven't read and don't fully understand. It's foolish."

Elena sighed and sat, "So this is going to take a while, isn't it?"

"It might. It's best if you make yourself comfortable. I'm not the world's fastest reader and this mission assignment doesn't make much sense to me. Why do Reno and Rude need to be sent on a stakeout mission to Modeoheim for a week? Don't we have less valuable Turk operatives we can send to sit on their asses for a week?" Reeve thumbed through the papers, looking at Elena directly. He had already finished reading the assignment, he just wanted to draw out the conversation he was having with Elena. It wasn't often that anyone came to him for approval on anything outside his department and he was confused why she had picked him over the other board members, most of whom would have signed her papers without so much as a glance at them.

"I don't know why Tseng chose them; it might be because they're pissing everyone off lately." Elena propped her head up on her hand, watching Reeve watch her.

"How are they upsetting everyone?" Reeve straightened the papers out meticulously, letting his compulsive desire to straighten and tidy take over his confusion on what he should be doing with his hands.

"They keep fighting and it's driving us all crazy." Elena watched Reeve's hands, smiling softly as she recognized the obsessive way he straightened the papers. She did that herself; it was a habit that was hard to break.

"Any idea why they are fighting?" Reeve frowned softly, not liking the way the papers refused to align themselves according to his liking.

Elena shrugged; her slim shoulders raising enough to touch her neatly parted yellow hair before she dropped them back into place. "No, they just keep fighting. It's not even a verbal or physical fight, it's like it's a battle of wills. I'm pretty sure Reno will crack first; Rude is far too stubborn to give up on whatever they're arguing about."

Reeve chuckled softly, "Rude is the only one who laughs at my jokes during board meetings. I like him."

Elena blinked, since when did Reeve make jokes? "You joke, Reeve?" Reeve was probably the only board member that she would call by his first name. She even called Tseng, sir, most of the time instead of Tseng. It was a sign of respect. Not that she didn't respect Reeve, it was just that she respected him in a different manner than she respected the rest of the board. He seemed more approachable and personable than the others.

"Of course I make jokes. It's just that no one listens when I do. That combined with the fact that only Rude can stay awake during my presentations means that no one gets to experience my sense of humor unless they're talking to Cait Sith. He's a lot better with social skills than I am." Reeve straightened out his pencils.

"Maybe you should give Cait Sith a different part of your brain to work with? Then you can make better jokes." Elena smiled and held her chin.

"Well, in lieu of giving up control over my brain, how about we discuss this mission more?" Reeve smiled amiably, folding his hands in front of him in an attempt to control his obsessive desire to have everything on his desk ruler straight.

Elena nodded softly, "Okay. What else do you need to know?"

"Why Modeoheim?" Reeve thumbed through the mission report. "I don't see any reason here for them to be here except that they need to wait on a package for the company. It doesn't make much sense."

Elena shrugged again, "I'm not sure why Modeoheim is the chosen spot. Maybe it's more convenient for the courier?"

Reeve chuckled and shook his head. "If you had ever been to Modeoheim you would know that it's not convenient for anyone."

Elena laughed, "Whatever you say, Reeve."

Reeve smiled and signed the mission report, handing it back to Elena. "I say if Tseng wants them to freeze their asses off for a week then that is what will happen."

Elena took the file and stood, smiling happily. "Thanks, Reeve. Oh, stay away from the Turk floor for awhile. Reno broke the bathroom and its burrito day."

"Thanks for the update. If you need to you can hide up here until the smell dissipates." Reeve smiled and stood, opening the door for Elena as she turned to leave.

"I'll keep that in mind, Reeve. Thank you." Elena smiled and left Reeve's office, returning to the Turk floor with her nostrils tightly closed. She hoped someone had started hanging air-fresheners like she had asked, otherwise it would smell atrocious down there.

* * *

**Author's Note: This little side story to the actual story was in the way of the rest of the story and wouldn't let me write more to it until I let Laney and Reeve have some talky time. It's probably because I had a nice dreamt he other night where Elena and Reeve were all lovey dovey happy. Note, the Reevena pairing may become more common in my stories because of that dream.**


	13. Chapter 13

Reno wrinkled his nose as he and Rude entered the Turk floor, gagging on the pungent air surrounding them. He looked over at Rude to see if the bald man was having the same trouble breathing that he was, but Rude wasn't looking at him. Rude was gazing ahead at the angry blonde who was sloshing through the carpet towards them. Reno looked ahead at her and cringed as she came towards them, a handkerchief pressed under her nose. Reno slapped on his best smirk and raised an eyebrow at her. "Geez, Laney, don't you know about courtesy flushes?"

Elena frowned at Reno and slapped him with the handkerchief, which she had soaked in scented oils. "You did this you oaf!"

Reno laughed and snatched the handkerchief from her, pressing it under his nose to guard his delicate nostrils from the wretched smell eking out of the bathroom. "Oaf? That's the best insult you can think of?"

Elena snatched her handkerchief back and held it under her nose, unable to take the odor around them. "Shut up, Reno. I'm about to make your life hell."

Reno rolled his eyes and pinched his nose shut. "Yeah, right. You can't do anything to me."

Elena grinned evilly and walked off. "Follow me to Reeve's office and we'll see how little I can do."

Reno turned to head off in the opposite direction, but a strong hand clamping on his shoulder prevented him from doing so. Reno looked up at Rude as the tall man forced him to follow Elena. "What's the big deal, Rude? I don't want to see Reeve he's annoying!"

"You've gotta take responsibility for your actions, Reno. Besides, you've got an alibi. It'll be fine." Rude kept his grip on Reno's shoulder firm, knowing that the wily red-head would slip away if he let go.

Reno sighed and let Rude guide him, dragging his feet. "If it gets me away from this smell I don't care how annoying he is."

"Way to put a positive spin on it, Red." Rude smiled and pushed Reno towards the stairs, enjoying that he had Reno so close to him. Reno may have set ridiculous boundaries about personal space on the way home, but Rude didn't listen to him. He had been to busy reveling in the fact that he did indeed have another chance, he just had to be patient and wait for it.

Reno grumbled and let Rude guide his shuffling feet up the stairs, starting to get uncomfortable with the close proximity he had to Rude now that he was getting less concerned with the smell assaulting his senses. "I thought I said no touching?"

"Screw you I'll touch what I want. I'm a big boy I know what's good for me." Rude chuckled softly, a glimmer of happy mirth hiding behind his sunglasses.

"Well you don't know what's good for me." Reno frowned and jabbed the button for the elevator, listening to Elena's shoes slap the stairs wetly. "Screw stairs, I'm being lazy."

Rude waited for the elevator doors to open, still firmly grasping Reno's shoulder. "How do you know I don't know what's good for you? Maybe I know exactly what you need."

"Don't push it, Rude. We just discussed this. I told you what I want the boundaries to be set at." Reno frowned and let Rude push him into the elevator, jabbing the button for the floor they needed and frowning as the elevator doors slid shut.

Rude sighed and took his glasses off, cleaning them on the hem of his shirt. "I know what the boundaries are."

Reno looked down at his feet, intent on keeping himself from falling under the spell Rude's eyes cast. He had fallen under that spell at the restaurant and he wasn't going to fall under it again. If he did it twice in the same day odds were his boundaries he had so clearly outlined on the car ride home were going to be shattered before the sun went down.

They tromped into Reeve's office single file; Elena had waited at the door for them, having ran up the stairs in order to beat the elevator up, and they all stood in front of Reeve's desk. Reeve looked up, surprise evident on his face. He hadn't expected Elena to take him up on the offer to use his office space quite so quickly. He had thought her more stubborn than that. The fact that she had brought Reno and Rude with her, however, did not leave him pleased or with much elbow room. He had parts for a new Cait Sith in his hands and he would have liked to finish tinkering with them without three people staring at him. "Can I help you?"

Elena smiled and set the file on Reeve's desk. "I just want you to let them know that you authorize what I'm about to do to them."

"Of course I authorize it. I authorized it twenty minutes ago." Reeve raised an eyebrow, trying to piece together a reason for Elena's mischievous grin.

Elena turned to Reno and Rude, hands on her hips. "You two are going on a stakeout mission."

Reno paled; he did not like stakeout missions at all, no matter who he was with. "What? Why?"

"Because we need two Turks to go to Modeoheim for a week and you two got picked." Elena crossed her arms over her chest with a smug grin.

Reno turned a shade whiter, his tattoos shinning out brilliantly against his pallor. "You're sending us to Modeoheim for a whole week? We'll freeze!"

Reeve chuckled and set down his Cait Sith pieces, realizing what Elena was up to. Something must have happened that made them challenge either her authority or her ability, and she was taking credit for the mission assignment so that it would seem like she was punishing them. "You'll have a cabin to yourselves and you are allowed to pack warm clothes. You won't freeze so long as you aren't stupid."

Reno frowned, color rising in his cheeks at the thought of him and Rude in a cabin, alone, for an entire week. "What is the stakeout for?"

Elena smiled impishly. "You'll be waiting on a package."

"We aren't couriers we're Turks!" Reno protested loudly, treating the assignment as if he were being told he was going to be forced into a sex change.

"You'll do as you are assigned." Reeve frowned, not liking that he was being yelled at in his own office. He looked to Rude, who was normally the stoic voice of reason, and found the bald man looking at him with a grin that stretched from ear to ear. "I'm glad to see someone is pleased with the chance to get out of the office for awhile."

Rude quickly cleared the grin off his face as Reno looked at him, knowing that he would be in trouble with the red-head if he saw the shit-eating grin he had on his face. "I'd like the chance to fly again. It's been awhile since we got the bird out of the nest."

Reno brightened at the mention of a helicopter ride, and Elena took her chance to get a word in edgewise. "You two need to go pack now. We expect you at your destination by nightfall."

Reno started to protest, but Reeve cut him off. "You're dismissed. Both of you. The paperwork is done go pack and leave." He looked to Elena and shared a mischievous grin with her, wondering to himself how long Reno and Rude would last before they killed each other.

Rude grabbed Reno's shoulder and tugged him out of the office, trying to keep his mouth set in a straight line. Reno wouldn't like it if he was the only person in the office not wearing a mischievous grin.

* * *

Reno packed halfheartedly, conflicted. Part of him wanted to spend a week alone with Rude, but the other part wanted things to stay the way they were. One part spoke to his innermost desires, while the other yelled and raged at his fears. He had no choice but to go with Rude, but he wanted to see Rufus first. He wanted to see if there was a reason he could use to keep Rude from trying to smother him. He needed an excuse, and if Rufus still wanted him, even though he'd be gone for a week and unable to play his sex-toy, then he'd keep Rude from seducing him. If there was a chance he could pretend happiness with anyone else to give Rude a chance to find someone who deserved his attentions.

* * *

**Author's Note: I know the last chapter disappointed with the lack of Reno/Rude in it, but I hope this one has made up for that lack. Next one shall have some more Reno/Rude in it.**


	14. Chapter 14

Reno stuffed his travel bag into the trunk of his car, shoulders slumped low enough that his knuckles dragged across the asphalt below his feet. He wasn't depressed, he was perplexed. He felt lost in his own emotions, but he was sure a quick chat with Rufus would set everything back in perspective. He could go a week in Rude's company without jumping all over him; he just needed to know he had a reason to resist the temptation. If Rufus wasn't willing to suffer the week without him, then Reno would have no reason to keep his boundaries in place, except to keep from hurting Rude. He had already told Rude to keep his hands off him; he didn't need to send conflicting messages by not keeping his hands off of Rude.

Reno slipped into his car and drove, eyeing the bandage on his hand thoughtfully. He knew he needed to pretend to be happy with someone in order to give Rude the chance to find someone better suited for him, it was the only way he could keep himself from getting hurt and to keep himself from hurting Rude. He wasn't sure he should continue pretending with Rufus, but who else was there he could pretend with? He didn't want to go searching for a new pretender; he didn't need to involve anyone else in his abysmal attempts to get over Rude. Hell, he wasn't even sure he wanted to be involved in his attempts to get over Rude.

Reno pulled up to Rufus' mansion, parking and looking around carefully before stepping out of his car. Dark Nation had laid in wait for him before, waiting for him to pull up, and had cornered him at his car until Reno's yells for help had finally reached Rufus' ears and brought the blonde to his rescue. Reno rubbed his arm softly with his bandaged hand; the scratches her whipping tentacle had left on him were still healing. Dark Nation was only responsible for a small portion of the scabbed over cuts and purpling bruises littering his body. Reno tugged on his up-turned collar, rolling his neck gently to remind himself how many bites and bruises coated his throat. The mutt barely even accounted for half of his damaged clothing. Nation may have chased him to his car with a scrap of his pants in her mouth, but Rufus had done more damage by tearing his clothes off and leaving bites deep enough to bleed; the bites left scabs and, when Reno moved his head, the scabs broke and BOOM! Reno needed another white shirt to wear to work because he simply couldn't figure out how to wash out bloodstains.

Reno flexed his hand; contemplating the most recent Dark Nation inflicted injury, and walked up to the front door. He was fairly sure that a real relationship between Rufus and himself would never last because of that mangy mutt that did everything it could to keep Reno out of the house. If Reno wasn't in Rufus' room with the door locked, he wasn't safe form Dark Nation. Besides, Reno wasn't entirely sure he would be able to handle Rufus' rough treatment for enough of an extended period of time for anything to be considered a relationship. Reno couldn't keep going home at one in the morning and waking up sore and irritable just so he could go back to work at the unreasonably early hour of eight a.m. Once he got to work, he would steal the coffee pot and muddle through his paperwork. He was getting more done lately, except for today when he had pulled that stupid prank with Rude. He had to admit, the prank had been satisfyingly destructive, but flooding the office seemed to have landed him in hot water.

Reno rapped on the door with his good hand, waiting for Rufus' butlers to get Dark Nation under control so that he could enter the house without her teeth grabbing hold of his arm. He could hear scuffling behind the door and he assumed it was the butlers tugging the mangy menace back, but a shout loud enough to be heard through the door let him know Rufus was greeting him, not one of the many nameless butlers. "Nation! Heel! Go back upstairs!"

Reno smiled and waited for the door to open, feeling better now because Rufus sending Dark Nation off meant that Rufus wanted to see him. Rufus opened the door and Reno blinked, shocked by the disheveled state Rufus was in. He gave Rufus a once over, noting several bruises and a few broken buttons. "What the hell? You look like you got in one hell of a fight, Rufus."

Rufus rubbed the side of his neck and opened the door wider, letting Reno in. "I'm glad you stopped by. I need to talk to you about something."

Reno stepped inside, looking Rufus over carefully. It was well past noon and the man was in an attractive state of disarray. If Rufus looked the way he did now all the time, Reno would find it easier to fall in love with him. "What's up?"

Rufus sighed. "Just follow me. It'll be easier to explain if you see."

Reno felt his stomach drop to his shoes; he could see his hopes for an excuse drop with Rufus' shoulders. "You're breaking up with me, right?"

"Yeah, I am. Sorry, Reno." Rufus looked at Reno with a sad smile and led him upstairs. Even if the break up mess was out of the way, Tseng still wanted to talk to Reno. "Mind if we stay friends?"

Reno laughed, following Rufus up the stairs with a heavy heart. "We were friends?"

"Kind of. More like the kind of buddies who harass each other Monday through Thursday and then flirt on Friday so they can hook up on Saturday then Sunday they part ways and start the cycle fresh on Monday." Rufus smiled at Reno and led him to the living area where they had cuddled not even a half hour before Rufus had slept with Tseng.

"Sounds about right. Who'd you drop me for?" Reno couldn't really feel any hard feelings towards Rufus, they hadn't really liked each other anyways and, even though the sex was good, it wasn't what either of them needed. There was no need for animosity between them; Reno hated himself enough on his own, he didn't need anyone else to loath him.

"Me." Tseng lounged on the couch with Dark Nation's head in his lap, his shirt only half buttoned and his hair loose around his shoulders.

"I can see why." Reno grinned and looked Tseng over. "You can slum it better than I thought, Tseng. You should rough it up more often; it suits you better than your clean-shaven look."

Tseng touched his face with a frown. "I haven't had the time or the energy to waste on shaving today. I've been a bit busy."

"I noticed. You both skipped work today." Reno chuckled and sat on the armchair opposite Tseng, watching Dark Nation carefully. The beast glared at him but didn't leave the comfort of Tseng's lap; apparently, attacking Reno wasn't a priority when Tseng was giving away free scratches. "I flooded the floor, just so you know."

"Oh? What did you do that for?" Tseng wrapped an arm around Rufus' shoulder as the blonde sat beside him, pulling the younger man to his side tightly. "Also, why tell me it was you?"

"I was hoping if I fessed up you'd ease up the punishment I just got. I know you gave the order to send me to Modeoheim with Rude for a week." Reno folded his hands in his lap and looked at Tseng intently, begging for mercy. "I can't handle a week alone with Rude, bossman. I'll stay away from Rufus, I'll do all my work, and I'll wear my uniform right. Just don't make me go."

Tseng raised an eyebrow. "I didn't know you hated Rude so much, or is it Modeoheim you can't stand?"

Reno shook his head. "I just can't be alone with Rude somewhere as isolated as Modeoheim. Hell, I can't be alone with Rude anywhere. It's complicated. I don't really have a good way to explain how I feel or why I feel that way. I just can't be around him."

"Well, that's more reason for you to be around him. Unless you'd rather spend the next week as Dark Nation's personal chew toy I suggest you pack up and go to Modeoheim." Tseng snorted and rolled his eyes at Reno's pathetic protests.

"Please, Tseng? I'll clean toilets all week if I have to, just don't send me to Modeoheim with Rude!" Reno was not above begging and pleading, he was rather good at both actually.

Tseng sighed and looked Reno over. The straight line that was Reno's normally slumped shoulders was enough to tell Tseng how vexed the man was over his predicament. What he didn't understand was why Reno chose to be vexed instead of choosing to be loved. "Reno, you and Rude work well together and everyone in this room knows you both adore each other. Why don't you want to spend time with your best friend?"

"Because when we're alone it's more than that." Reno sighed and tugged at his ponytail. "When we're alone we're lovers and I just know that I'll hurt him more by being with him than by rejecting him."

"Oh? How can you be so sure?" Tseng raised an eyebrow, "You are focused solely on self-preservation, Reno. I'm pretty sure you're more afraid for your own feelings than for his. You're not being noble by rejecting him, you're being a dick."

Reno blinked in surprise. "Bossman, I don't think I've ever heard you say dick before."

"Probably not. I don't say it often." Tseng shrugged and let his hand sit of Rufus' waist, noting the way the blonde's head rested on his shoulder. He was fairly sure Rufus was falling asleep again. He kissed Rufus' hair and turned his attention back to Reno. "The point I'm trying to make is that if you really think that what's best for Rude isn't you then you should care enough about Rude to not let him into your bed. You should be able to stave off his advances for one week and reestablish that you two are supposed to be friends, not lovers. If you really think that that is what's best, then you will care enough for Rude to stay in his company for one week to make sure he understands where you're coming from on the issue."

Reno sighed and nodded, pushing himself to his feet. "You're right, Tseng. But…" He looked at Tseng with a sad sigh. "I don't really think I'm strong enough to keep from giving in."

"If you give in, don't do to him what you've been doing to Rufus." Tseng looked at Reno seriously. "If you fuck him and leave him, you will hurt him more than you can imagine."

Reno sighed and searched his pockets. "I need a cigarette so badly."

"I thought you quit?" Tseng raised and eyebrow.

"I did. That doesn't mean I don't really, really need a cigarette right now." Reno smiled weakly and walked to the door.

"If you start smoking again I'll cut your pay in half." Tseng stroked Dark Nation's muzzle as she pressed at his hands for attention.

"Don't worry, bossman, I trashed all my cigarettes anyways." Reno lied quickly and walked down the stairs and out of the mansion, glad to be away from the strangely painful sight of Rufus and Tseng being in love. He slipped back into his car and spun dirt from his tires as he peeled out of the driveway, searching his glove box as he did so. He had one cigarette left, his emergency cancer stick, and he had it tucked between his lips and lit before he finished his peel out.

**Author's Note: Sorry this has taken so long. No one wanted to do what they were told to do. Next chapter should come more quickly.**


	15. Chapter 15

Reno stubbed his cigarette out before he walked back into the Shinra building, hoping that the lingering sewage smell on the Turk floor would mask the scent of his relapse. He knew he reeked of that nicotine and tobacco blend he had just been dragging into his lungs, but he didn't regret having that last cigarette. Smoking had set the still addicted parts of his brain into a restful state and had made it easier to think. Who said he had to have a relationship right now? He hadn't cared two shits about Rufus but he had let him claim him as his boyfriend. Why had he even allowed that? He was smarter than that! He knew Rufus treated his boytoys like crap and he had still allowed himself to become one despite his prior knowledge! He mentally kicked himself as he climbed up the many flights of stairs to the Turk floor, his travel bag slung over his shoulder and his eyes focused on his feet. He should know not to be so desperate as to be with someone he didn't have any feelings for. He still didn't think he was right for Rude, but he had no uncertainty about the fact that Rude was right for him. Deep inside he knew that, if he would stop being so wishy-washy and actually commit himself to a relationship with Rude, he had the potential to be what Rude needed. He just didn't trust himself with the responsibility of holding down a committed relationship. He had never had one before, so he had no idea how they worked. He had never even seen a working committed relationship; all the married people he had met were either divorced or cheating on each other. It didn't paint a pretty picture for commitment.

Reno shoved the doors to the Turk floor open and gagged, dragged out of his reverie by the lingering scent of backed up plumbing. It seemed that only the maintenance men were left on the floor as there were no other Turks in sight, even Elena had given up on using her office and must have retreated to Reeve's office. Reno tucked his nose into his shirt and stalked up to the elevator, sick of stairs for the day. Luckily he would be flying soon and, even though he'd be closest to the source of his troubles while he flew, he would be in the air and in the air; nothing mattered but the sensation in the pit of his stomach as he swooped through the sky like a bird.

Rude tucked his bags into the back of the chopper, waiting for Reno to make it to the launch pad. He felt like he had been waiting for hours, but he knew it had only been a few minutes. He had taken such a long time making sure he was prepared for the week that he was sure Reno, with his sloppy, fast, and inadequate for the circumstances packing technique, would have beat him to the chopper. For some strange reason, however, Reno was running behind as well. Rude hoped that Reno hadn't gone to great lengths to try and reverse the assignment, but with the way Reno had been acting towards him lately he wouldn't put it past the red-head. He saw the upcoming week for what it was; a chance to redeem himself in Reno's eyes and repair the tear Reno had ripped into their relationship. It was true what Reno had said to him, they had never officially had a relationship, but Rude planned to remedy that. He would get Reno's real feelings out of him if it was the last thing he ever did and he would resort to desperate measures to do so. The something that had urged him to be with Reno in the first place demanded that he beat the love out of Reno and take it back for himself.

Of course, beating the love out of Reno was a last resort, but the plan had its merits, especially as the red-head walked up to the helicopter pad reeking of poison smoke that could have only come from a cigarette. He sighed and tried not to breathe the scent he had hoped to disassociate with Reno. "When did you pick smoking back up?"

Reno blinked, he wasn't even aware Rude had noticed his approach. He quickly sniffed his shirt and frowned. "Godsdammit! I thought walking through the Turk floor would mask that!"

"The scent of shit doesn't stick quite as well as cigarette smoke does. Unless, of course, you've been smoking logs of shit too?" Rude blinked as he caught himself swearing. He rarely swore. Even when he was hurt he didn't swear. He was sure his mother was looking down on him and clucking her tongue in disapproval, but he would deal with his conscience later. Right now he had to deal with Reno in whatever way his something demanded. Right now, that something demanded that he be an utter asshole and he would obey. Not listening to that something that he needed a better name for than just 'that something' had lost him Reno's affection so listening to it would most likely bring the affection back. It was the most logical thought Rude had ever mustered up.

Reno blinked, scooting past Rude to drop his luggage in the back of the chopper. "Are…are you okay?"

"I hate it when you smoke those damn things." Rude watched as Reno set his bag down, sighing softly at the lack of weight in it. "Didn't you pack anything, Reno?"

"Course I packed stuff!" Reno looked between his bag and Rude's bags, confused. "Why did you pack so much stuff? It's only a week long trip!"

"Right now it's only a week long trip, but considering it takes two weeks for mail to reach me here from Junon, I figure that unless Rufus called for his package a week ago we may be stuck up there longer than expected." Rude climbed into the cockpit of the helicopter, chuckling softly at the look of horror that crossed Reno's face and finding it hard to keep up his angry demeanor. He knew though that Reno would eventually say something that would make it so, so much easier for him to be angry with the red-head like his something demanded.

"What! We've never been on a mission this stupid for that long!" Reno gaped, aghast at the prospect. "There's not even anything IN Modeoheim! They've got one bar and nothing else that would interest me one bit!"

"They've got skiing, Reno." Rude pulled on his headset, waiting for Reno to get in the chopper.

"Again, nothing else that would interest me one bit! What am I supposed to do for a whole week, Rude!" Reno pouted and stalked over to his side of the chopper, his spirits falling at the prospect of an extra week of sub-freezing climate.

"I hope you brought a book." Rude adjusted his headset, trying to seem impatient with Reno but knowing that he didn't pull off his façade well. There were many, many reasons that Rude wasn't an actor. His inability to act out things he didn't feel was the major one.

Reno climbed into his side of the chopper, pulling on his headset. "But…I don't have any books."

"Well then, you're in for one hell of a boring week." Rude got the helicopter started, eager to get off the ground.

Reno sighed and helped Rude pilot the bird off the landing pad, gazing into the sky with a grin. "I don't know where you're going, but I'm gonna steer us towards Costa Del Sol."

Rude was unable to resist a chuckle as he shook his head. "Costa Del Sol sounds amazing, but you've gotta remember, Reno, it may be warm, but this is the time of year when the Sahagin swarm the beach and soak up all your sun."

Reno wrinkled his nose and flew towards Modeoheim. "Suddenly a week in Modeoheim doesn't sound too bad. Maybe we should stay longer?"

Rude sat back, hands loose on the controls, waiting on his opportunity to give Reno a talking to. "If we stay longer then maybe I'll have time to teach you how to read that book you didn't bring."

"Oh right, it sounded great until I remembered that there are going to be a lot of boring parts." Reno shuddered. "Maybe we should just go kill all the Sahagin and play on the beach?"

"I'd rather just sit in Modeoheim and get paid to wait for a package. It sounds a lot less strenuous than most of our other missions. No one wants to kill us on this one." Rude took over the controls as Reno started drifting the helicopter in the wrong direction.

"But…Costa Del Sol is a ten minute trip….Modeoheim is an hour long trip…I'll get numb-butt syndrome and my balls will become one with the chair and you'll have to have me surgically removed from the helicopter if I have to sit still that long!" Reno looked out his window to the clear sky beside him.

"Well, maybe I'll just leave you in the chair for the week and I'll sit inside by the fire until you stop complaining." Rude tensed as he felt his opportunity to unleash the full fury of his something draw near.

Reno laughed. "Nah, I think you'd probably help me."

"Why would I do that, Reno?" Rude let the question hang, biting his tongue against the urge to say more.

Reno blinked, looking at Rude in confusion and stammering slightly as he tried to respond. "W-what?"

"Why would I help you out of the chair?" Rude looked at Reno, eyes hidden behind his sunglasses. Reno stilled reeked of cigarettes and the scent filled his nostrils, making his eyebrows crease with anger and frustration. Was Reno only able to be chatty and talkative with him now because he had smoked beforehand? Did Reno dislike his company so much now that he had to resort to drugs or alcohol to be able to tolerate him? His something told him that that much must be true and Rude felt his eyebrows touch together, his jaw set in a tight line as he forced the chopper to go faster.

"Because…you like me? We're friends?" Reno smiled weakly, feeling like Rude had sucker-punched him. Maybe it was the high altitude that did it, but Reno suddenly found that his stomach was swimming somewhere around his ankles as he tried to process the idea that Rude wouldn't help him with something simply because they were friends.

"Are we friends, Reno? Do you really think we're friends Mr. 'I-have-to-smoke-or-drink-before-we-can-do-anything-that-doesn't-involve-arguing'? I mean really, Reno, after all the time you've spent in the past week plus trying to avoid me and get rid of me do you really think we can call each other friends?" Rude watched as color drained from Reno's face, feeling even bitterer now that he had let out his carefully chosen accusations.

Reno blinked, still feeling like he had just been punched in the gut. "I... I… I … Damn, Rude. That…That hurt like hell to hear."

"Now you know how I feel." Rude looked straight ahead, tongue pressed between his teeth as he took full control of the chopper, reaching over and flipping Reno's controls off so that he could pilot by himself.

Reno let the worthless controls slip from his hands, sinking in his chair to join his stomach on the floor. He was stunned by what had just happened. Rude had dropped him. Just when everything had started to look up for their trip and they were starting to have a good time together again, Rude had dropped him like he was a scrap of rotten fruit. He pulled off his headset and stood on shaking legs so he could move to the back of the chopper, finding it useless for him to sit in the front seat if he wasn't able to help fly.

Reno curled up in the backseat, surrounded by Rude's bags while clutching his own much smaller bag to his chest. In his attempts to keep himself from getting dropped, he had forced Rude to drop him. He should have told him how much he loved him when they had made love instead of biting his lip and choking the words back. He should have curled up in Rude's arms instead of running to the shower on shaking legs, legs that shook just like his legs shook now but for very different reasons. He should have stayed the night and let himself wake up content and happy on Saturday, instead of flopping onto his unwelcoming bed and letting his own self pity lull him to sleep.

Reno touched a hand to his neck, quickly finding the yellowing remains of the last bite mark Rude had left on him. The scabbed and crusted bite marks around it didn't mean anything to him, but the pale yellow bruise beneath his fingers did. He had been conflicted when he received the bite, and he was conflicted now. He had succeeded in his mission of getting Rude to keep him at arms length so that he wouldn't hurt him, but was he happy with how the results of his fruition felt in his soul? No. He wasn't. It was an undeniable fact that he still wasn't happy. He had thought that without commitment to Rude, he would be happier, but as he sat curled under all of their bags, he knew that he had been stupid to think that he could be happy without Rude. He rubbed the bite mark slowly, smiling softly to himself as he remembered how gently Rude had bitten him. Rude had bit him just hard enough to leave a bruise, but not hard enough to cause him more than a few lingering moments of pain that had fueled his pleasure. He should have known better than to throw away all that he and Rude could have had, but maybe there was time to pick the pieces back up?

The reality check Rude had just given him meant that the man was feeling hurt, more hurt than Reno had realized. Rude kept his emotions sealed in behind his sunglasses, but Reno would find a way to break his guard and learn what he had to do to make things right again. Even if they couldn't be lovers again, as obviously Reno was a terrible, horrible choice for Rude in that respect, then maybe they could learn to just be friends again? Reno would shoot for friends first, then he would work on getting Rude back into his bed. After all, he still had things in Rude's shower that he needed to gather up and there were countless pairs of socks roaming Rude's apartment that belonged to Reno's feet. If nothing else, he at least had an excuse to get back in Rude's bedroom to look for his socks.

* * *

**Author's Note: So, Reno has FINALLY grown up and figured out that he's got no reason NOT to be with Rude, but maybe he waited too long to figure it out? Reno should smoke more often if it keeps him from being such a moron about his relationships.**


	16. Chapter 16

Reno kept his mouth shut for the rest of the flight, huddling down amongst the luggage while Rude flew. He was freezing, but he didn't' want to ask Rude to turn the temperature up any higher. If Rude was more comfortable freezing, then Reno wouldn't interfere. After Rude's outburst Reno was determined to keep his head down until he could figure out a way to repair the damage he had done. His determination to stay awake, however, was not nearly as strong as his determination to be good to Rude and he fell asleep, head cradled on his improperly packed duffel bag.

Rude landed the helicopter beside the small wooden cabin they were going to be staying the week, or longer, in and shivered, pressing his sunglasses farther up his nose as sunlight reflected off of the virgin snow. "Shiva's tits, it's fucking freezing up here."

Rude looked back with a small smile, expecting Reno to be cracking up with laughter at the mention of Shiva's icy tits, but instead he found his joke wasted on the sleeping red-head's dead to the world ears. He sighed, he had been hoping to undo some of the tension he had created, but Reno's sleeping face clearly showed that he had not registered a word of what Rude had said. Rude stepped out of the chopper, his boots sinking into the crisp snow below him with a small crunch. He reached into the back of the chopper and started tugging out his duffel bags, uncovering Reno and exposing him to the cold air. Reno shivered and curled into himself, his eyelids twitching but not opening. Rude shook his head and tugged his bags to the cabin, smiling as the fresh snow crunched and cracked under his feet, the sound of his footsteps echoing slightly in the empty air. The snow wasn't fresh, that much was obvious to him, but it was clean and crisp enough that Rude was fairly sure he could use it for drinking water and find that it was purer than any of the water that was filtered and boiled and squirted into plastic bottles to be sold on grocery store shelves everywhere. As he unlocked the door he heard a small snort from the helicopter as Reno rolled over, waking himself as he fell on the cold metal floor of the aircraft. Rude chuckled and opened the door, setting his bags inside. "Get the rest of them, Reno! Don't you dare come in empty handed!"

Reno shivered and blinked at the bags sleepily, frozen fingers scrambling to grab hold of their straps. He yelled back, his voice echoing with a metallic tin lent to it by the hull of the helicopter. "Shiva's tits! It's fucking freezing!"

Rude smiled and shook his head, going to the fireplace. Luckily there was enough kindling in the wood box that Rude could get a small fire going before Reno managed to huff and puff himself up to the cabin, but there wasn't going to be enough wood to keep it going.

Reno shivered and walked up the hill, the few bags Rude had left for him clutched in his freezing hands. He stepped inside Rude's footprints, shivering more as cold snow seeped into his shoes and soaked his socks, numbing them quickly. Reno hated being cold. It was the worst thing ever. He tromped inside, tossing the bags onto the floor and stripping off his snow and water filled boots. "It is freezing!"

"Its winter weather, Reno, what do you expect?" Rude raised an eyebrow as he poked at the fire, encouraging it to engulf the logs he had tossed on it.

"But this is Modeoheim's version of summer!" Reno shook and closed the door, feeling no relief from the cold even though he was indoors. "Where's the fuckin' thermostat! I'm going to crank the heat up so high I burn this bitch down!"

Rude rolled his eyes behind his sunglass, stabbing at a long in the fire that refused to catch. "I'm making a fire Reno, calm down. We should conserve energy as much as we can so we don't blow the generator. Unless, that is, you want to risk not having hot food for the rest of the week because you've cut off the electricity our oven and microwave run on?"

"Well, you've already proven that we can make a fire so that's not a huge issue, Rude. We can always roast marshmallows for the rest of the trip, right?" Reno scanned the walls, searching for the elusive thermostat.

"I'd rather not do that, thanks anyways." Rude stood and wiped his hands on his pants. "Now, would you rather help me chop wood or would you rather cook?"

Reno blinked at Rude. "Why do we need to chop wood? I thought we had wood?"

"Not enough to last us the rest of the night. There are a few tiny trees outside I can chop down and bring in though. It'd mean you'd need to go outside though." Rude opened one of his bags and pulled out a heavy coat and gloves, slipping them on as he spoke.

"I think I'd rather cook then." Reno wrinkled his nose at the mention of going outside. "I'd rather stay inside and slave over a hot oven than go outside and freeze my ass off."

"You hardly have an ass to freeze off, Reno." Rude pulled up the hood on his coat, making sure that he was well insulated against the cold outside.

Reno frowned. "No need to insult my ass just because you haven't had it in awhile."

"And I don't plan on having it ever again." Rude frowned and grabbed an axe from the wood box. "Have dinner ready when I get back, okay?"

Reno winced at Rude's words and nodded, wanting to slap himself for making what he had done into a joke when Rude was obviously still upset with him. "Okay…Sorry."

Rude slammed the door shut behind him and stomped to the backyard, grabbing a well-used and well-rusted wheelbarrow from a small shed behind the cabin. He shoved the wheelbarrow through the snow, going farther from the house than he had planned to. Reno had no sense of decency or tact, this was a fact that Rude should have learned to deal with years ago and, in fact, Reno's somewhat insulting nature had never really bothered him before. Now that he knew what Reno had done to him and how hurtful he had been, he was more than a little offended by things the red-head did. He grabbed his axe and started swinging at a small tree, determined to work out a bit of his rage at the saucy bastard cooking his dinner.

Reno shivered and walked to the kitchen, his toes turning a light blue color as they slapped against the floor of the kitchen. He poked around the cupboards, frowning at the under-stocked provisions they had been stuck with. He would be able to make one meal, perhaps two, but tomorrow they would have no choice but to go grocery shopping. He was lucky enough to find pasta and sauce, but any meat he had planned to add to the sauce was quickly discarded after it was opened; Reno didn't have the best sense but he knew better than to cook meat that smelled the way that meat did. He started boiling water and hovered over the pot to try and absorb some of the warmth the electric burner was putting out. He wished Rude would let him turn on the heat, but he knew better than to argue about it. Reno had only seen Rude get this angry a handful of times and in none of those times was the anger directed solely at him. He had been lucky thus far in life not to suffer Rude's wrath, but now, as he stuffed dry pasta into lukewarm water impatiently, he knew he was going to have to endure his friend's hatred until he could sort out just what he had to do to make Rude like him again. He held no hope out for making Rude love him, but a quick touch to the bite mark on his neck reminded him that the next time Rude's affection was offered, he wouldn't be able to refuse again.

Reno could hear Rude's chopping echoing through the window and he frowned, shutting the window and locking it tight. "No wonder it's so damned cold in here!" Reno quickly checked the other rooms, forcing each frost-coated window to close and making sure each door had something shoved in front of it to keep the air from drifting out. He could still hear Rude chopping wood, but the sound was muffled by the glass between Reno and the outside world. He searched the cupboards again, tossing out rotten food and making a list of what food he would have to buy the next day. He wasn't even going to entertain the idea of asking Rude to contribute to the food supply, not when Rude was so mad with him. Besides, he owed Rude anyways; after all, over the years he had mooched more than one meal off the man without paying it back. He shook his head at his own rudeness and made a mental note not to be such a dick in the future, at least, not to Rude.

Rude wiped sweat from his brow, staring at the decimated trunk of the tree in front of him. He wasn't very good at wood chopping. All the logs that had been in the wood box were even and had almost exactly the same size and shape. The logs he had just cut were of various sizes and shapes. He knew there were more efficient ways to chop wood than what he had just done, but he felt better for the exercise and didn't think too hard on his ugly hunks of tree meat. He shoved the wheelbarrow back through the crisp snow, staring at his breath as it fogged up in front of him. He hoped that Reno hadn't completely destroyed their food in the process of cooking, he had only brought a few freeze dried meals and he wasn't sure if he had told Reno about them or not. Hopefully he had, because otherwise Reno would have most likely made a very pitiful dinner that he would have to force himself to eat simply because he wouldn't want to waste the food.

He grabbed an armload of the wood and stepped inside, stomping the snow off his boots. "I'm back."

"Awesome! I just finished the food!" Reno called back from the kitchen, his voice sounding more cheery than Rude had planned on it being.

Rude set his misshapen hunks of wood in the wood box and tossed a few on the fire before stripping off his coat and gloves and setting them on the back of the couch to dry. "What did you make?" He looked at his bags, hoping to see that they had been rummaged through, but, to his dismay, they hadn't been touched.

"Food." Reno grinned as he dusted off two of the plates he had found in one of the cupboards.

"What kind of food?" Rude asked hesitantly, taking off his boots.

"Good food." Reno set the table, proud that, for once, he had been able to cook pasta without it turning into a goopy glue-like substance.

"What kind of good food?" Rude didn't like this game anymore, but he was too scared to go and look at what Reno had made.

"The kind of good food that you like to eat." Reno slopped some past and sauce onto the plates and rummaged through the kitchen drawers for silverware.

"What kind of good food that I like to eat?" Rude took his time poking at the fire to build it back up.

Reno rolled his eyes and poked his head out of the kitchen. "Just get your ass in here and eat, Rude."

Rude sighed and walked in, preparing for the worst. "Where did you find the food?"  
"In the kitchen, duh." Reno sat at the table and grabbed his fork, digging in with haste.

Rude sat and looked at the food. "I didn't know there was food in here."

Reno raised an eyebrow. "The how the hell were you expecting me to make dinner?"

"I have this freeze dried stuff in one of my bags that I thought you would make." Rude poked at his spaghetti tentatively, checking it for signs of life. When it didn't move in retaliation he gave a sigh of relief and took a hesitant bite.

Reno blinked. "You didn't tell me you had food in your bags."

"I thought I did…" Rude chewed thoughtfully and nodded in approval, deciding that if Reno wasn't dead just yet that it was probably safe to eat what he had made. "You didn't do half bad on this though."

"I've learned how to use the timer on the microwave and figured out that the directions on the side of the box aren't optional." Reno quipped as he crunched down on his spaghetti.

"That's good. Thanks for not making poison." Rude chuckled and ate.

"When have I ever made you eat poison?" Reno raised an eyebrow, glad that Rude wasn't spitting his food out.

"Remember when you made me a birthday dinner last year?" Rude shuddered at the memory. Reno had been trying to make up for breaking another set of his sunglasses and had done so by cooking him a special birthday dinner. The only special part about it that Rude had been able to pick out was the hospital trip afterwards where they both had their stomachs pumped.

Reno shuddered. "Oh…right. That. I forgot about that."

"I try to block near death experiences like that from memory." Rude ate with a smile.

"Hey, you can't call it a near death experience! It wasn't nearly that bad!" Reno frowned and slurped up a noodle.

"Yes it was." Rude chuckled and set his fork down, plate clean.

"Was not!" Reno pouted, stabbing at what remained of his spaghetti. Rude lowered his sunglasses and raised an eyebrow at him, giving him a look that made him sigh and relent. "Okay, fine, it was that bad."

Rude nodded and got up, setting his dishes in the dishwasher. "Admittance is the first step to recovery."

"You know, the people at the rehab joint Tseng sends me to after every New Years party say the same thing, but I've yet to buy it." Reno stood and cleaned up his cooking mess, giving Rude a sidelong glance. He could still feel some tension beneath the surface of the conversation, but at the moment none of it was breaking out into the open.

"I don't see why he sends you there, you never learn anything." Rude helped Reno clean up, knowing that if he kept jabbing at Reno's feelings enough he would eventually either feel better, or get a good enough apology that he could legitimately be better instead of just feeling that way.

Reno winced and scraped burnt sauce from the bottom of the pan; he had left the burner on and the messy red substance had turned into a black paste. "I learn new ways to escape from a rehab clinic, that's something, right?"

"Yeah, I guess so. You're escape artist skill is one you use to get out of everything, regardless of whether its good f or you or not." Rude shut off the oven, watching the red hot burners cool and turn black.

Reno winced again, scraping at the sauce pan with malice. "What the hell do you want from me? The promise that I'll spend a month in rehab giving up every bad substance I've ever touched? Fine, you've got it. The second we get back I'll check into a clinic and give up having booze and the occasional cigarette."

Rude sighed. "I don't care if you drink, Reno, I just care that you can't seem to stand being with me unless you're drunk off your ass."

"Am I drunk right now?" Reno frowned, tossing the mess of a pan against the bottom of the sink.

"No, I don't think so." Rude blinked as Reno chucked the pan.

"Then obviously I can stand to hang out with you without it." Reno stomped from the room, heading to the living room to warm his freezing fingers by the fire.

Rude sighed and flipped the ruined pan over, filling it with hot water in the hope that after a night of soaking it would resemble something that could call itself a pan again.

Reno frowned and sat as close to the fire as he could, shivering as the warmth slowly seeped into his skin. Why did Rude have to keep reminding him of his failure? It wasn't like he didn't know he had fucked up! Then again, he wasn't exactly acting remorseful, even though he was. He still hadn't apologized, not the way he should have apologized at any rate, but Rude had to realize he was sorry, didn't he? As Rude walked past him to sit on the couch he realized that the exact opposite was true; Rude had no idea whether or not he was sorry. Rude didn't know how he felt or what he wanted and that was what was making Rude upset, not the fact that he smoked a cigarette the other day or even that he had left after sex all those Friday nights; it was the fact that Rude had no idea how he felt or why he felt that way. Reno sighed and tucked his cold nose between his knees as Rude turned on the television, frowning at the sound of static. "Great, no tv either."

"Nope. Nothing up here but you and me." Rude sighed and flipped through the fuzzy channels without interest, lying back on the couch to digest the mostly edible meal that Reno had made.

Reno looked over at Rude, feeling something besides the cold urge him to lie down beside the warmer man and cuddle him. He wanted Rude to feel better, but he had no idea how to make that happen. Well, that was a lie, he had every idea on how to make that happen, he just wasn't sure he wanted to do what his brain told him he should. His brain got him into a lot of trouble and he didn't want to listen to it anymore, it was what had gotten him into this trouble in the first place. Had he listened to his heart instead of his head, perhaps he wouldn't have been such a douche-bag to Rude in the first place. Reno sighed and nuzzled his face into his knees, letting the warmth of the fire chase off the chill that made him want to scramble over to the couch and squeeze in between Rude's warm body and the soft cushions, forcing himself to ignore the something that pushed for it even after the cold was completely erased from his lean frame.

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**Author's Note: Well, this chapter is getting us a little farther in our story. **

**Does anyone else simply adore saying "Shiva's tits, its cold out here?"**


	17. Chapter 17

Reno sat beside the fire, listening to Rude flip through the pages of the book he had brought with a sigh. He hadn't brought anything besides some clothes; he had been a little too preoccupied with the dreaded thought of spending an entire week alone in bum-fuck-nowhere with a man who he had made hate him that he still loved but knew couldn't love him back because Reno was too much of a dick-head to figure out how to apologize correctly. The color of his skin had returned to its normal pasty white, but he still felt blue with chill and sadness on the inside. He had been wracking his brains for the past few hours, or at least they felt like hours, for a way to apologize. He had yet to come up with anything that he deemed useful; so far only sappy, trivial ways to say he was sorry had popped into his head. Sadly, however, simply saying, "I'm sorry," had not yet crossed his mind.

Reno turned and stared at Rude, his mind whirring like a ceiling fan as he went around and around his mind, pacing through the rut he had thought he pulled himself out of. He was back where he had been not even a month ago, running mental laps through this rut he had created for himself and struggling with his own indecision. There wasn't much he could do to fix things and all the baggage he had dragged into the rut to try and give himself a boost out hadn't helped at all. His feet were dragging over the idea of apologizing to Rude, mostly because he wasn't sure what to apologize for first.

Rude raised an eyebrow and closed his book, watching Reno watch him. "Can I help you?"

Reno blinked and looked at Rude. "Huh?"

Rude chuckled and shook his head. "Never mind, you're out of it."

"Out of what?" Reno tilted his head to the side, his ponytail falling off his shoulder and tickling his elbow.

"Your mind." Rude laughed and picked his book back up, trying not to watch Reno's hair as it waterfalled over his arm.

"What makes you say that?" Reno raised an eyebrow. Perhaps he had been staring too hard? Whatever he had done, he had obviously given himself away. This whole situation took too much thinking and, for the past few weeks, he had done more thinking than he ever had in his whole life. He had never been one to think for long on anything, he usually just did what came natural. Perhaps that was all he needed to do now?  
"You've been staring at me for twenty minutes like you're trying to decide whether you want to hit me or eat me." Rude tried to find his place in the book he had brought, not remembering where he had been because, for the past twenty minutes, he had been more focused on Reno focusing on him.

"Oh…Sorry?" Reno shrugged and watched Rude's hands as he thumbed over pages. He liked Rude's hands. They were big, strong, and warm and he felt a sudden longing to hold them again. He had been ignoring such urges and wants for a while now and he was feeling the craving more than normal now.

"Apology accepted." Rude found a spot in his book that at least looked familiar and began reading again, shifting in his seat as Reno's eyes bored into his book. If the red-head stared any harder, he'd probably set the pages on fire.

Reno stared, trying to untwist his tongue so he could say what he needed to. However, it seemed that unknotting his tongue was as impossible as winning a sword fight with a feather. He opened and closed his mouth several times, gaping like a fish out of water as he tried to get enough air in his lungs to force out a few words that were probably not well chosen, but needed to be said. The something he had been ignoring was fighting for dominance as he tried to squash it to the back of his throat in favor of what he wanted to say. He was losing a fight with himself.

Rude set the book down, unable to concentrate when Reno was sitting in front of him, staring and flapping his mouth comically. He tried to keep laughter out of his voice as he questioned the method to the redhead's madness. "What on Gaia's green planet is wrong with you tonight?"

"Everything?" Reno raised an eyebrow and cleared his throat. "I'm trying to figure out how to apologize best…But I can't really figure out what words to use."

"Actions might work better than words. We both know you've never been the best at speaking." Rude watched Reno, getting a small bud of hope in the middle of his chest that, perhaps, his waiting had paid off and his efforts hadn't been wasted. Maybe he had gotten through Reno's thick skull after all?

"Actions?" Reno scratched his head, frowning softly in thought. What did Rude mean? Should he hug him? Tromp out into the snow and buy him flowers? Well, the second idea sucked anyways because Rude was allergic to most flowers, but the first idea was iffy. What if Rude meant he should just be nice? Well, Reno wasn't good at that either… To Reno, it seemed like the hug idea was the only one with any merit in it at all. It was worth a shot, right?

Rude waited, watching Reno think. How hard was it for Reno to figure out what he meant? He didn't want to spell it out for him, that would be pointless, but Reno knew him well enough that he could easily figure out what he meant, right? Well, maybe not. If Reno knew him at all he wouldn't have left him in the first place.

Reno scratched his head. "I'm really no good at thinking either…Rude, I just keep running around in circles. I want you, but it terrifies me, but the thought of not having you scares me even more…So I'm gonna slap my heart on my sleeve for a minute here okay?"

Rude raised an eyebrow. "Okay?"

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry for leaving you, for playing games with you, and for letting Rufus even touch me. Course, that last part wasn't one hundred percent my fault. He's very persistent and happens to take advantage of people who are terrified of his nasty dog." Reno scowled and picked a thread in the carpet, eyebrows clicking together in an angry frown.

"Wait, what?" Rude raised an eyebrow.

"His damned dog got all whippy with the damned tentacle thing on her head and he told me she'd feel better if he…munched on my mouth for a bit." Reno rubbed the back of his neck, blushing softly at the memory of it.

Rude clenched his fists, watching a blush of embarrassment climb up Reno's cheeks to his tattoos. "So you let him?"

Reno sighed. "Well it was that or pretend I was okay with his bitchy dog whipping me again. That stinger hurts like hell. Just sayin'."

"Did she leave a mark?" Rude raised an eyebrow, hands still clenched at his sides.

"Yeah." Reno opened his shirt to show Rude the remaining welts that Nation had left on him more than once. "She really hates me, the stupid mutt. She got me more than once, same spot too."

Rude took the opportunity to get a closer look and slid off the couch to kneel by Reno. "Dang, those look painful."

Reno nodded and showed Rude his bandaged hand. "She took a slice out of my hand the other night too. I hate that damned mutt."

Rude took Reno's hand gently and held it. "There's an upside to being with me then. I don't have any pets and I don't mind if you get that iguana you've been wanting for forever."

Reno blushed, realizing Rude's proximity. "Rude…"

"That's not the only upside either." Rude gently pulled down Reno's collar, watching him blush. He had wanted Reno to make the first move, but Reno was too busy apologizing to give him the apology he actually wanted. "I don't break the skin."

"I know, Rude." Reno shifted, feeling more heat from Rude than he could get from the fire. "Rude, there are about fifty million upsides to being with you. The only downside I can see is that if we don't work out I'll end up hurt as hell."

"What makes you think we won't work out?" Rude raised an eyebrow, keeping his voice low and watching goose bumps raise on the back of Reno's neck.

"Me." Reno squirmed, doing his best not to look at Rude's eyes, trying to find anything else to focus on instead.

"What about you? Do you think you can't give me what I want? Do you think you can't stay faithful? What is it?" Rude gently tilted Reno's face up to his, knowing that he would get a straight, albeit stammered and disconnected, answer if Reno looked him in the eyes.

Reno shook and turned his eyes away from Rude's, looking to the side and trying to find something interesting on the wall the focus on. "Both…I…I've never seen a good committed relationship. I have no frickin' clue how they work. I don't even know if I want one."

"Oh, you want one. You want to know why?" Rude smiled and inched closer to Reno, amused by Reno's resolve not to look him in the eyes.

"Why?" Reno felt himself start to shake as Rude's breath ghosted over the side of his face, his body tensing in anticipation as he started to melt inside.

"Because if you're in a committed relationship, you get sex even when I'm pissed at you and an alibi for those sick days you take when you feel a little too hung-over to go to work. Tseng questions you, not me." Rude held Reno's hand gently, lowering his voice and whispering in Reno's ear gently. "Besides, when we had our dates every Friday night, did you ever want to be with anyone else before Rufus pulled his tricks on you?"

Reno did his best not to moan as Rude's lips ghosted over his ear, the soft whisper tickling the back of his neck. "N-no…"

"Did you ever hit on anyone else?" Rude could tell he was winning; Reno was shaking with the effort his self-restraint took.

"No, never even w-wanted to..." Reno closed his eyes and tried to focus on lowering the tent he had unwittingly raised in his trousers.

"So in a way, you were committed to me. You just didn't realize it because you hadn't labeled it that way." Rude pressed his lips to Reno's ear and set Reno's hand on his shoulder, smiling as Reno gripped his shirt tight. It freed up his hands and he began ghosting them over Reno's back, holding Reno close as he did.

Reno couldn't hold back a moan and held Rude's shoulders with both hands; he hadn't realized just how badly he wanted him. He wasn't even registering what Rude said, he just didn't want him to stop whispering in his ear. Rude's voice sent chills down his spine and he shivered as he felt his back touch the carpet, the firelight painting warm shadows across them. He weakly stammered, realizing he ought to say something, even though he wasn't one hundred percent sure what was going to come out of his mouth. "I-I love you, Rude!" Reno blushed dark as he heard his voice, almost able to see his words hanging in the air above his face.

Rude pulled back and pushed Reno's thin red bangs out of his face. "I love you too, Reno."

Reno smiled and gently pet Rude's face. "Mean it?"

"Of course." Rude smiled and pressed into Reno's hand, kissing his palm softly.

Reno leaned up and kissed Rude gently. "Me too."

Rude chuckled and pressed Reno back against the carpet. "I can't believe it took me this long to get you to admit it."

"What can I say? I'm stubborn." Reno smiled and watched the light from the fire play across Rude's face. "So…does this mean we get to spend the rest of this trip making up for lost time?"

"Sure, if you want to. Don't we have a mission though?" Rude smiled and traced the edges of Reno's tattoos with his fingers.

"Fuck Elena's mission. She can shove it right up her stuck up little ass." Reno pulled Rude down for a kiss and wrapped his legs around him, eager to set things in motion so he could get Rude out of his clothes and into him.

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**Author's Note: It took forever, but it's finally finished. That lowers down my load for writing from 6 to 5 stories! Huzzah! **

**I'm going to miss this story though, it was lots of fun (at least up until this last chapter where nobody wanted cooperate and they fought tooth and nail to get away from me. If this chapter's quality isn't up to par, I apologize and blame Rude. He's the one who caused the most problems.)**

**Thank you to everyone who read, reviewed, or even glanced at this, and a special thank you to Square Enix for creating characters who are so much fun to slash write!**


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